I can't imagine my life without his plays now.
I've been fascinated by Shakespeare ever since the BBC asked me to make a documentary about him, and I have learned that you cannot hope to understand Shakespeare without understanding his plays, which is impossible.
His 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 trinmph in the final over Felix Mantilla suggested that the new-style Rusedski can last five successive hard days without his body wearing down, and that he has incorporated changes into his play without his game breaking up.
Now, almost seven years later, his "Play Without Words," a steamy drama of class conflict set in sixties London, is at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Hearing those who criticized his play without knowing about his sternum, Browning stewed and studied, preparing to wow, while the other injured players returned, the inexperienced matured, and realities changed.
The British choreographer Matthew Bourne, a less innovative choreographer than either, had a better decade: his "Play Without Words" (2002), a hauntingly eloquent piece on the cusp of dance and acting, both witty and poignant, was a major work.
He's awkward and a little goofy, with few traces of born leadership to him, and he's on a team with players like Lewis and Ed Reed and Ray Rice, which makes it easy for observers to focus on all the downsides to his play, without giving him credit for the victories.
They had this little consultation at the tail end of 2002, after Richter had sustained the concussion from an accidental collision, which would end his career without his ever playing goal again.
Still, without the financial backing for his play, he's still paying to go to school on his own.
"But as the tour went on, he had figured it out - how not to panic and how to take oxygen without it interrupting his playing.
