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Excuse me, there's no pretence here

@deeplyshalllow

If anyone tries to tell you that Shakespeare is stuffy or boring or highbrow, just remember that the word “nothing” was used in Elizabethan era slang as a euphemism for “vagina”. 

Shakespeare has a play called “Much Ado About Nothing”, which you could basically read in modern slang as “Freaking Out Over Pussy”. And that’s pretty much exactly what happens in the play. 

It’s also a pun with a third meaning. There’s the sex sense of much ado about “nothing”, there’s the obvious sense that people today see, and then there’s the fact that in Shakespeare’s day, “nothing” was pronounced pretty much the same as “noting”, which was a term used for gossip. So, “Flamewar Over Rumors” works as a title interpretation, too.

The reason we call Shakespeare a genius is that he can make a pussy joke in the same exact words he uses to make biting social commentary about letting unverified gossip take over the discourse.

Hey, hey, hey, you’re forgetting the fourth thing, that noting (again, pronounced note-ing) was a pun on music NOTES and that’s why there’s a shitload of singing and dancing and puns about singing and dancing because Much Ado About Noting is basically Freaking Out Over Pussy The Musical: Gossip Making a Mountain out of a Molehill.

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justalurkr

Today I learned

I've waited until today to write my thoughts on Death Note: The Musical because I've been so exhausted from being in London and generally just collecting my thoughts on the show (had a good post-show drink with my friend in the pub to talk about it last night).

But now I have a free moment to go on Tumblr and splurge, I have to summarise by saying: WOW. WHAT. A. SHOW!!!!

I had such a blast watching it; I think I was grinning pretty much throughout the whole thing. Every song is brilliant (I've been listening to them on repeat all of today), the actors are mega talented with amazing voices, and it's a really INTERESTING (wink!) adaptation of the anime I love so much.

It wasn't without its flaws, that's for sure. My main gripe was perhaps the ending, as it felt a little rushed and out of character for L, but given that one musical would never be able to cover the full story of the anime or manga, they did a great job considering what they had to work with, and it was always going to be a condensed version of the story we know.

My main highlights:

  1. Rem was an unexpected delight! She looked stunning, resembling a white angel next to Ryuk's pure blackness, and the actress' voice was GORGEOUS.
  2. Ryuk, of course. Adam Pascal nailed this role, both the comedic and dark elements of his character, and like Rem, he LOOKED perfect.
  3. John Dean-Wilson was an AMAZING L, just as I expected. His interpretation was slightly more unhinged than anime/manga L, and I honestly loved that. His mannerisms were on point and every song of his was memorable.
  4. My favourite song and scene in the whole musical was definitely 'Playing His Game' which was sung DURING L AND LIGHT'S TENNIS MATCH. That entire number gave me chills and summed up their dynamic perfectly. I'll be playing this song over and over again for weeks.

But yeah, as you can tell, I LOVED THIS MUSICAL, and really hope I get an opportunity to see it again at some point. <3