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What profession is the ‘playwright’ of our time?

Who are the Bill Shakespeare & Kit Marlowe of Now, in terms of literary skill but also reach & fame/notoriety? What is today’s equivalent artform to a play in the round or a fawning sonnet for the Queen?

And, would an Elizabethan playwright today be a bigshot film writer/director? A Netflix screenwriter or producer? A rapper or pop songwriter who rubs shoulders with foreign royalty & international models?

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by Anonymousreply 63January 10, 2018 11:49 AM

Philip Dawkins

by Anonymousreply 1November 30, 2017 6:01 PM

eh hem

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by Anonymousreply 2November 30, 2017 6:02 PM

Ryan Murphy

by Anonymousreply 3November 30, 2017 6:04 PM

Beyoncé

by Anonymousreply 4November 30, 2017 6:12 PM

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

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by Anonymousreply 5November 30, 2017 6:16 PM

I personally believe we DLers are at the forefront of the vanguard.

(AND we will surely be up for a Pulitzer or something for our probe into Operation Lansbury.)

by Anonymousreply 6November 30, 2017 6:21 PM

I don’t blame you all so much for not taking the question asked in all earnestness seriously, as I blame myself for not anticipating it. As you were, lads.

by Anonymousreply 7November 30, 2017 6:36 PM

Jay-Z recently predicted Chris Martin of ‘Coldplay’ would be held up like a Shakespeare in centuries to come. Really.

Beyonce is more likely than either man to take the wreath from Will’s head. At least she popularised certain turns of phrase. ‘Bootylicious’, the trochaic ‘Becky-with-the-good-hair’, “I’m in my feelings” and “I slay” are all more memorable and in wider use than any Coldplay lyric or Jay-Z line.

by Anonymousreply 8November 30, 2017 11:32 PM

If Shakespeare or Marlowe were alive today, they'd be churning out episodes of power-blood-and-revenge sagas on HBO.

by Anonymousreply 9December 1, 2017 12:17 AM

So basically George R. R. Martin is the Shakespeare of the 21st Century, R9?

What about the poetry side, though? The Bard was a multi-talented artistic force as well as a famed courtier, even though he was looked down upon by some for his plays. He also directed his own works and acted from time to time. Is there anyone alive today who even comes close? I’m thinking the late Prince Rogers Nelson might fit, given that he had films out...

by Anonymousreply 10December 1, 2017 1:25 PM

I once heard Bill Cli n ton called the ‘Faustus’ of our time, not sure if I agree.

Who is the modern cognate of Chaucer? A hypeman, a forgerer, a travel writer & satirist to the rich, & amateur cardshark...

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by Anonymousreply 11December 1, 2017 1:42 PM

In the 1990s, it was the moguls & bookers of American pro-wrestling.

Behind the curtain was almost as much drug use, excess, sleazy sex and power-games as you’d expect from politicians of now...all for our Entertainment dollar. Vince Russo has a little John Ford about him.

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by Anonymousreply 12December 6, 2017 6:14 PM

quentin tarantino is the dialoqgue king since reservoir dogs. he just gets dialogue like willy the shake.

by Anonymousreply 13December 6, 2017 6:23 PM

Nah R2, he wants to be a Beat. His auteur films and stints at teaching speak to that.

Shakespeare was more a dramatic storyteller than a diarist, more of the common-people. Bill was less about philosophy & personal journeys and more about society & relationships within it.

by Anonymousreply 14December 6, 2017 6:36 PM

It was probably Rod Serling.

by Anonymousreply 15December 6, 2017 6:48 PM

Vlogger

by Anonymousreply 16December 6, 2017 6:56 PM

Kit Marlowe produced almost nothing.

Bill Shakespeare was consistently productive.

No-one in the last century has produced as much as what Shakespeare did. It's a different world now.

by Anonymousreply 17December 6, 2017 6:58 PM

Yes, quite right R17. Shakespeare’s catalogue is remarkable even by today’s standards. One wonders when he stopped to eat.

However, I was speaking of legacy & largesse more than proliferation. I am asking: which writers of today have the influence & popularity of Shakespeare? Whose work is entering mass consciousness in the same way?

How about Bowie? His lyrics are as memorable, and as well-beloved.

by Anonymousreply 18December 6, 2017 7:29 PM

[quote]I am asking: which writers of today have the influence & popularity of Shakespeare? Whose work is entering mass consciousness in the same way?

Michael Jackson, J.K. Rowling, Kanye West, Pixar.

by Anonymousreply 19December 6, 2017 8:14 PM

R19 those listed certainly do have the widespread appeal. But the talent...?

by Anonymousreply 20December 6, 2017 9:47 PM

To be fair to Marlowe, he was killed when he was 29, so, no, he didn't write very much. Shakespeare was not yet "Shakespeare" at that age; much of his early work is pretty ragged. He did work like a demon once he got going, though.

by Anonymousreply 21December 6, 2017 10:20 PM

Quality, not quantity, R21.

Don’t scholars now believe that Marlowe had a big hand in writing the Henry cycle?

by Anonymousreply 22December 7, 2017 2:14 PM

Tim Rice & Bernie Taupin are both world-renowned lyricists who have had their words in major stage productions. They have also worked with ‘stars’ and in film.

What sayeth the Datalounge?

by Anonymousreply 23December 7, 2017 2:15 PM

R22, the current Oxford edition totally buys into the idea that Shakespeare and Marlowe collaborated on the Henry VI plays. I’m not sure how much of that is based on language algorithms and how much is based (longstanding) speculation. One might have hoped for something better from that match-up.

by Anonymousreply 24December 7, 2017 5:32 PM

R24 indeed. Two heads aren’t always better than one, particularly if those two heads are genius rivals. The idea of Marlowe & Shakespeare collabing is a tempting one, but there’s definitely still a case to say that they couldn’t have compromised enough to produce a whole play in tandem (and that they didn’t have enough time to get to comfortable enough to work together before Marlowe’s death). Still, the echoes of Marlowe in Henry VI are undeniable. I’ve always noticed a big jump in quality in that cycle...

What do you think they would admire nowadays? I feel that Shakespeare would look to recent acclaimed tv series like ‘Empire’ or popular comic dramas such as Wes Anderson films. To my mind, Marlowe might prefer more fantastic & experimental works such as Pynchon novels or series like ‘American Gods’.

by Anonymousreply 25December 8, 2017 12:52 PM

Would either of them have groped their female leads, do we think?

Will had his mistress Anne, so I doubt he’d feel tempted. He also had a daughter I believe, which would turn him off. Kit preferred men and seemingly liked them older, so perhaps it’s a no on both counts.

by Anonymousreply 26December 16, 2017 1:59 PM

Stephen King. J. K. Rowling.

by Anonymousreply 27December 16, 2017 2:02 PM

It galls me to think of King that way.

by Anonymousreply 28December 16, 2017 4:08 PM

Kathryn Bigelow.

by Anonymousreply 29December 19, 2017 11:33 AM

Why does everyone keep saying Rowling? I just don’t see it.

by Anonymousreply 30December 21, 2017 4:57 PM

There is no answer. No compassion is possible.

Our society is post-modernising itself into stupidity.

by Anonymousreply 31December 21, 2017 5:06 PM

Intriguing, R31. Please elaborate at will.

How did those Elizabethan gentlemen poets & wordsmiths develop their eye for the human heart? Is it impossible for a 21st Century pen to grow toward the same?

by Anonymousreply 32December 21, 2017 10:46 PM

^Oops, did I say 'compassion'?, I meant 'comparison'.

Shakespeare’s talent lies more in the mass of his discursive, Handel-like, elaborative clever poetry than in his actual 2-hour or 4-hour long plays.

A contemporary Shakespeare might be writing in a different media today (because poetry, more or less, died during the 20th century). But our ever-shortening attention spans won’t allow us to listen to anything longer than 5 minutes.

by Anonymousreply 33December 22, 2017 9:04 AM

R18, rap, unfortunately.

by Anonymousreply 34December 22, 2017 9:45 AM

So for our purposes Jay-Z’s ‘Story of OJ’ is basically cognate with ‘Timon of Athens’?

by Anonymousreply 35December 24, 2017 7:56 PM

Who is the Shakespeare of modern times? Maybe the Beatles, but definitely a musical artist with international acclaim, intergenerational appeal, and a catalogue that so far stands the test of time.

by Anonymousreply 36December 24, 2017 8:15 PM

R26 - there were no female actors to grope in Bill's time.

R33 - I think your wrong about poetry dying during the 20th century. Digital platforms have opened a door for poetry. Also about five minute attention spans - sonnet 14 lines long, ten syllables per line.

R17 - Joyce Carol Oates comes to mind. So does Arthur Miller. So does Eugene O'Neill.

R34 - what's the problem with rap? It seems many people doing rap are taken seriously by scholars. Like it or not Eminem comes to mind.

by Anonymousreply 37December 24, 2017 9:15 PM

R37 'I think your[sic] wrong about poetry'.

35% of Datalounge might remember a poem they read in school.

2% would remember a poem they read after leaving school.

Prove me incorrect by starting a thread here challenging the Dataloungers to recite a poem written in last 5 years.

by Anonymousreply 38December 24, 2017 9:31 PM

R38 poetry then is the equivalent of song lyrics today. Check this linked thread and you’ll see poetry alive & well....

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by Anonymousreply 39December 24, 2017 10:17 PM

^ Those lyrics are one line long.

Shakespeare's Macbeth is 2 hours, Hamlet is 5!

by Anonymousreply 40December 24, 2017 10:25 PM

Maybe tv writers like Michael Hirst, formerly documentarians but now doing longform epics for Netflix like VIKINGS.

by Anonymousreply 41December 26, 2017 2:34 PM

Advertising.

by Anonymousreply 42December 26, 2017 2:48 PM

Ahem.

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by Anonymousreply 43December 26, 2017 4:18 PM

OP, Bowie bears no comparison to the Bard

by Anonymousreply 44December 26, 2017 9:28 PM

Both Brits, both poets, both cause celebres..

by Anonymousreply 45December 26, 2017 9:37 PM

Both Brits, both dead, one relies on international capitalism to spread their product across the planet

by Anonymousreply 46December 27, 2017 9:29 PM

A-HEM.

by Anonymousreply 47December 30, 2017 2:37 PM

In that case r14 you'd have to look to the rappers who told stories about poverty, cops, corruption and the streets. Rap is poetry whether you like it or not.

by Anonymousreply 48December 30, 2017 3:03 PM

I remember these r38

The woods are lovely dark and deep. And I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep.

Good fences make good neighbors.

My name is Ozymandias, king of kings. Look on my works ye mighty and despair.

One if by land, two if by sea. And I on the opposite shore will be, ready to ride and give the alarm. For the village folk to be up and to arm.

As an elder gay in school we were required to memorize poetry in English class.

by Anonymousreply 49December 30, 2017 3:13 PM

[quote]You live, you die And spend the years in between asking the question Why you've been through what you been You lose, you win, you even pay for other sins But you must always adore the skin you are in

I woke up and it was pouring down rain

I put my head on, it really wasn't no thing

One of them days I was feeling immune to the pain

Threw on, Alice Coltrane, smoked and sang

And wrote this flame composed to the rhythm of the droplets

And went whispering similar to gossip

The kick slapping at the window glass

Slow down the globe so it don't spin too fast

Because, I've been running like a river since

The age of my early innocence

It just made me ambitious

My grams used to tell me "Man listen

If you can't burn, don't step into the kitchen"

You muscle your turn, the laws of the land vicious

We gotta stick to the plan, which is

Pursuing true riches, whether we trade stock or wash dishes

Throughout setbacks and few glitches

The Big Picture's the focus, fuck being hopeless

Or helpless, we not selfish so we wrote this

Give it to ya, make you feel good

Know what I'm talkin about? C'mon

by Anonymousreply 50December 30, 2017 3:17 PM

Who is the HOTTIE in OP's gif?

by Anonymousreply 51December 30, 2017 3:18 PM

^ The late Michael Gothard

by Anonymousreply 52December 30, 2017 3:48 PM

You rang R51?

by Anonymousreply 53December 30, 2017 3:56 PM

Well, I don’t like to brag, OP, but.

by Anonymousreply 54January 8, 2018 5:07 PM

R18, OP; I think this thread has come to its conclusion concluding that there is no one as potent as Shakespeare in our time.

by Anonymousreply 55January 9, 2018 10:11 PM

Hey, unappreciative gay dudes. This gal isn't going away anytime soon, hee!

In addition to my digital newsletter, THE LENNY LETTER (half a million subscribers, bitches!), my career in publishing is exploding.

And I still have a sweetheart of a development deal with HBO, a rocker boyfriend, and Judd Apatow in my pocket.

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by Anonymousreply 56January 9, 2018 10:32 PM

pear-shaped figure and a dirty disfigurement on their arm

by Anonymousreply 57January 9, 2018 10:48 PM

[quote]Jay-Z recently predicted Chris Martin of ‘Coldplay’ would be held up like a Shakespeare in centuries to come. Really.

Yes, the lyrics just roll off the tongue like a soliloquy from Hamlet. To wit:

'But now, all I can think about is you All I can think about is you If all that I'm on earth to do Is solo Then what a lone poor shoe I wanna walk in a two"

by Anonymousreply 58January 9, 2018 10:55 PM

what the fuck is the question?? what (profession) if the playwright of our time?? um, a playwright???

wrf

sam shepard

david mamet.

by Anonymousreply 59January 9, 2018 11:02 PM

Shakespeare is a one off. No one who has followed him, or came before him for that matter, has come anywhere close to his genius. It's the reason so many people refuse to believe the man known as William Shakespeare from Stratford could have written those plays and sonnets.

by Anonymousreply 60January 9, 2018 11:07 PM

Sam Shepard is dead, and Mamet is not even remotely relevant in this era, so I'd hardly call either of them "of our time." Regardless, neither one of them creates beautiful, poetic language for the stage, which would seem to be a primary requirement.

I've always found Shepard daffy, tedious, and overrated. Mamet had his day, but at some point, even the hammiest actors will get bored doing revivals of GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. At which point nothing of his is really worth reviving.

by Anonymousreply 61January 10, 2018 6:21 AM

My old College lecturer for Drama in college was adamant that Dennis Potter should be considered this way, and that the plebeians underappreciate his works.

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by Anonymousreply 62January 10, 2018 11:44 AM

Potter is almost forgotten 15 years after his passing. He stuff will be revived in the next 20 years.

But Shakespeare's stuff continues to be revived.

by Anonymousreply 63January 10, 2018 11:49 AM
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