Shakespeare’s Sports Canon
by Chris Coculuzzi, Matt Toner, and William Shakespeare
A summer’s day will seem an hour but short,
Being wasted in such time-beguiling sport.
About the Play
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It took Shakespeare 25 years to create his legacy of 38 plays and five years for Coculuzzi and Toner to destroy it. Shakespeare’s Sports Canon transforms the Complete Works of William Shakespeare into a hilarious hybrid of improvised sporting play and spectacle theatre. Presented as live UCSN (Upstart Crow Sports Network) broadcasts at the Toronto Fringe Festivals from 2001-2005, the Sports Canon includes:
Shakespeare’s Rugby Wars (Toronto Fringe 2001): the Wars of the Roses tetralogy presented as a rugby match as Team Lancaster and Team York scrum it out for the British Crown and rugby supremacy.
Shakespeare’s World Cup (Toronto Fringe 2002): the famous four tragedies as Team Denmark, Team England, Team Scotland, and Team Italy kick out the blank verse for top tragic cup.
Shakespeare’s Gladiator Games (Toronto Fringe 2003): the Roman and Greek plays as a traditional Roman Ludi where gladiators vie for the coveted wooden rudis…and with it their freedom.
Shakespeare’s Comic Olympics (Toronto Fringe 2004): all of the comedies and romances as Olympic events as athletes strive to overcome comic feats of timing in their quest for ring finger gold.
Shakespeare’s NHL (National History League) (Toronto Fringe 2005): the leftover histories as a tribute to Canadian street hockey and homage to the Original Six as hockey’s historical heroes faceoff for Lord Stanley’s impressive cup.
Upstart Crow Theatre Group 