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Critic Charles Isherwood says all the negativity of Ping Chong’s “Throne of Blood” He obviously didn’t enjoy the play and even states “…would be as boring look at as it is to listen to.” Isherwood states that Chong failed to reproduce the same intensity as Kurosawa did in the adaptation of “Macbeth” Throughout his whole review of the play, Isherwood negatively comments from Chong leaving out Shakespeare to having a dull stage. He states “It essentially boils down to a lot of men charging back and forth across a mostly dark and bare stage in fancy samurai getups.” From this being said, he only liked one thing about the play and that was the costumes. I agree with Isherwood on the costumes because it was very eye catching and went well with the scenery. Overall, I thought that the play was confusing and failed to understand some parts of it.

http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/theater/reviews/12throne.html

Many teachers aspire to influence at least one student in their career. Some teachers create such an impact that students live by their teachings and their influence is carried on even after they graduate. Students always remember a wise teacher’s words. This is seen in both “The Analects” and the New York Times article about the teacher Fred Goldhaber. In “The Analects” students are mesmorized by the teachings of Confucius. His students admired him and considered his teachings to be a way of life. Confucius taught his students how they could live happy lives by spreading the importance of humanity. Confucius writes “seeking to achieve humanity leaves no room for evil” (A, 1049). His teachings were so influencial in China that it led to the spread of Confucianism. Even after his death Confucius’ teachings were still being taught and practiced.

In The New York Times article “Fred Goldhaber, 1st teacher at school for gays, dies at 63″ by Dennis Hevesi, students mourn the loss of a great teacher, Mr. Goldhaber. He was a very influencial teacher since 1985 for runaway homosexuals who believed they had nowhere to go. Many gays and lesbians took comfort in Mr. Goldhaber’s teachings and seeked his guidence at the Harvey Milk School of Manhattan. He was the first and for the first four year the only teacher at the school. A fellow collegue describes Mr. Goldhaber saying ” kids idolized him, many of them would have never gotten diplomas had it not been for the way he treated them”. Like Confucius, Mr. Goldhaber was

There are significant similarities between Shahrazad, wife of King Shahrayar and Kate Middleton, fiancée to Prince William. Middleton and Shahrazad are both educated women. In “The Thousand and One nights” that Shahrazad “knows poetry by heart, had studied historical reports, and was acquainted with the sayings of men and the maxims of sages and kings.” (B, 414).  Kate Middleton, is a college graduate. Middleton met Prince William while attending University of St. Andrews, in Scotland.   Middleton is vastly different than Prince Williams mother, Queen Diana. Middleton comes from a middle class family, and will become the first Queen with a solid education. “She will be the first queen in British history to have a college degree, or indeed, to have any college education at all.”

The future Queen of England and Shahrazad both put themselves in a precarious situation. For Shahrazad, she wants to marry the king, who is known to have women put to their death the next morning. She wants to marry him “so that I may either succeed in saving the people or perish and die like the rest.” (B, 414). While Middleton marries Prince Harry for love, she too must be weary of her new title. The Princess before her, Princess Diana, was killed. Princess Diana’s death was tragic and unforeseen, however, the saying “history repeats itself” is concerning for the future princess and Shahrazad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/world/europe/17royal.html?scp=2&sq=diana&st=cse

The women in Afghanistan are constantly oppressed and abused.  The only way to illustrate their feelings is through self-inflicted physical torture, which often leads to their demise. Sei Shonagon anticipated people to say (about her diaries) “It’s even worse than I expected. Now one can really tell what she is like.” (B,258) That quote is exactly the point Afghani women make through their suicides. It is the only way to show the internal struggles and humiliation they bottle up for so long. People cannot begin to comprehend the depths of pain they feel. As it says in the New York Times article, “Their family is their fate. There is little chance for education, little choice about whom a woman marries, no choice at all about her role in her own house. Her primary job is to serve her husband’s family. Outside that world, she is an outcast.” Sei Shonagon writes her diary “entirely for my own amusement.” (B, 258.) The Afghani women commit suicide entirely to escape a brutal life.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/world/asia/08burn.html?scp=1&sq=for%20afghan%20woman%20a%20desperate%20fiery%20way%20out&st=cse

Ping Chongs “Throne of Blood” was one of the most eccentric plays I have ever seen. Aesthetically, the costumes and set designs were magnificent. Unfortuantely, all other elements besides the costumes were under developed. If it werent for the costumes, as Isherwood says, the play “would be as boring to look at as it is to listen to.”

I had trouble understanding the dialogue. The voices were not clear. On a positive note, however, the spirit in the forrest was aboslutely terrifying. Her voice sounded similar to someone posessed, similar to the voice in “The Exorcist.” The make up worn by the actor was unbelievably convincing of an actual spirit, with an all white face, and chilling laugh.

Isherwood is very critical of Pong Chong’s production. “It essentially boils down to a lot of men charging back and forth across a mostly dark and bare stage in fancy samurai getups.” The play was no masterpiece, however, there were certain signs of brilliance. I thought aside from the costumes, the theartre screen used when the lights went out provided a new dimension into plays. Also, the lighting was excellent. Instead of focusing in on who was speaking the whole time, the voice would only be heard and the lighting would focus on the person hearing the voice, and catch their reactions.

“Throne of Blood” needs a bit improvement, but it was entertaining and unique from most other plays in theatre.

http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/theater/reviews/12throne.html?scp=1&sq=throne%20of%20blood%20isherwood&st=cse

“Throne of Blood”, a play from Ping Chong, had a great story line but a lack of excitement. The only part of the play that really caught my attention was the scary ghost and the annoying voice of Lady Asaji. I thought it was interesting how the play was an adaptation of a film; hopefully in the future upon viewing it I may be able to compare the two.  My favorite part of the play was the amazing display of the ghost in the forest. I think I can speak for everyone that was sitting near me and say that the goal of setting the spooky mood was a success. From the costume to the sound effects the atmosphere was just perfect for these ghost scenes. The play over all I felt was a bit rushed, I got a bit confused at some points and if I had not had previous knowledge of Shakespeare’s Macbeth I may have not been able to understand what was going on. Especially towards the end of the play I was very confused and I strongly believe it was due to the fact that it was rushed. The beginning of the play was much more slow moving and easier to follow.

Charles Isherwood, the theatre critic for the New York Times, recently reviewed “Throne of Blood” and definitely did not hesitate to incorporate his many strong disliking’s of the play. He felt that the stage was too bare, the language was not all there, and basically the costumes were the only thing he saw as beautiful.  Isherwood mention that, “The kimono first worn by Lady Asaji (Ako), Washizu’s wife, features a design of rich red dripping off the shoulders, foreshadowing her murderous ambitions.” I had taken notice to the red on the kimono because it was so vibrant, however I did not realize it was foreshadowing towards what was to come. It is interesting now to think back and understand that indeed it was. The highlight reel that was above the stage he felt was barely noticeable and not able capture the necessary atmosphere and I cannot argue against that. Isherwood felt that the ghost “…with his stark, kabuki-style makeup and waterfalls of white hair surrounding a tuft of bangs, the spirit seemed to me a vision of the quirky fashion designer Betsey Johnson in her dotage, more kooky than creepy.” I found this to be hysterical because I love Betsey Johnson, but I could not agree more!

Overall, I agree with Christopher Isherwood that the play was not all there. However, my disliking’s were definitely not as strong as his. I did enjoy the play and am very pleased to have seen it.



Charles Isherwood review of The Throne of Blood was a failure to identify the play as an independent from the film. Throughout the entire review he bashes the play for not being able to produce the same results as the original movie by Akira Kurosawa. His opinion lacked to mention how innovative they were for being pioneers  to bring a Japanese Samurai movie to the theater.

One of his arguments is the lack of use of space on stage, most of the time having as Isherwood says “a … dark and bare stage” and “dominated by a stone wall stretching across the back”, a statement that can be supported. Indeed, the most interesting scene in The Throne of Blood include large stage props such as the forest scene with the spirit, and including more frills it would have made a better piece.

The play was a new experience for me, and story line was easy to comprehend. In all the play was beautifully put together, giving the viewer and detailed story of a man who comes to power and a prophecy that can’t be escaped.