February's Plays

So, around the middle of each month, I'll post the next month's reading list. I don't think anyone's playing along at home ... but it seems fair to announce things ahead of time, in case any specific play catches your eye.

I haven't decided if I'll stick with these "theme" months. There's too much I want to read, and not all of it fits neatly into boxes. That said, I expect I can shove any play I want in any given theme with enough creativity and elbow grease. So these "themes" may become a bit more like those on This American Life: a connection so loose that "tenuous" would imply a vast increase in structural integrity.

There's at least one more themed month: February contains Valentine's Day, so why not spend a month on love?

I believe I came to one conclusion when setting the list for February: no Shakespeare. Looking at February, I thought I'd look at both Romeo and Juliet and Troilus and Cressida. On further consideration, I think I'll save Billy-Boy for a future project. (Of course, I may change my mind. (And "no Shakespeare" doesn't mean there can't be some Elizabethan/Jacobean blank verse at some point.))

That said ... four views of love: two by new voices, two by established ones. I'm not planning on a lot of flowers, candy, and Cupids in this bunch. Call it "My Bloody Valentine".

February 2: Love Song by John Kolvenbach
February 9: Betrayal by Harold Pinter
February 16: The Invention of Love by Tom Stoppard
February 26: Riding The Bull by August Schulenburg