SOURCE: Kohn, Martin F. “Sex, Violence, and Shakespeare.” Detroit Free Press (24 August 2003): 7E.

In the following review, Kohn asserts that Richard Monette's 2003 Stratford Festival production of Troilus and Cressida effectively demonstrated the madness of war. Kohn also praises Bernard Hopkins's bawdy, bisexual performance as Pandarus as vital to this rendition of the play.

For his startling, energized staging of Troilus and Cressida, Richard Monette has taken as his text these summarizing lines: “Lechery, lechery; still wars and lechery.” In other words, what we have here is the Trojan War with a lot more horsing around.

Now, the line goes on to say, “Nothing else holds fashion.” What some ears may hear is “Lechery, lechery … nothing else old-fashioned.” That works, too. The depiction of battles and bawdiness is as ancient as, well, battles and bawdiness, but there is little else old-fashioned about Monette's interpretation.

Speaking of things misheard, unsuspecting...