What performances have you seen lately?
DiscussãoThe Globe: Shakespeare, his Contemporaries, and Context
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1Cariola
I just returned from a week in London, where I saw two performances at the Globe: Othello and The Merchant of Venice. The latter was by far the better production. I don't know if it's that I've gotten tired of teaching and rereading Othello, or if indeed it is just not a great play. One thing this production did subtly emphasize was the correspondence between Othello and Roderigo, something I hadn't thought about much before.
The production of Merchant reminded me that, despite the undercurrents, this play really IS a comedy. Wonderful stuff with the suitors and the women's disguises, and they actually didn't cut Launcelot Gobbo's scene with his father, as so many productions do.
About a month ago I saw a quirky production of Hamlet at the Shakespeare Theatre in DC. I've never attended a performance of this play that evoked so much audience laughter. This Hamlet had an odd self-mocking tone to which the younger people in the audience really responded.
I would kill to see Ian McKellan in King Lear, which is touring some cities in the states right now.
What have you seen lately, on stage or film?
The production of Merchant reminded me that, despite the undercurrents, this play really IS a comedy. Wonderful stuff with the suitors and the women's disguises, and they actually didn't cut Launcelot Gobbo's scene with his father, as so many productions do.
About a month ago I saw a quirky production of Hamlet at the Shakespeare Theatre in DC. I've never attended a performance of this play that evoked so much audience laughter. This Hamlet had an odd self-mocking tone to which the younger people in the audience really responded.
I would kill to see Ian McKellan in King Lear, which is touring some cities in the states right now.
What have you seen lately, on stage or film?
4krolik
>1 Cariola:
Saw the Nunn/McKellen Lear a couple of months ago. For whatever it's worth, here's my take on it:
http://edel.univ-poitiers.fr/licorne/document.php?id=3958
Saw the Nunn/McKellen Lear a couple of months ago. For whatever it's worth, here's my take on it:
http://edel.univ-poitiers.fr/licorne/document.php?id=3958
5belleyang
>4 krolik: Krolik--thank you for the terrific review. The Fool gets hanged and just before intermission. Do you know if this is the first ever staging of the hanging? Any historical evidence of this? Many say the reference by King Lear that his poor fool is hanged referred to Cordelia. Fool being a term of endearment. Interesting that in the production you saw, they decided to be literal.
Do you have other reviews of Shakespeare's plays?
Do you have other reviews of Shakespeare's plays?
6krolik
>5 belleyang: belleyang
Sorry, I don't know if this is the first ever staging of the Fool's hanging. I'm not a specialist or scholar, just an admirer. Yes, indeed, the reference by Lear to his poor hung fool probably refers to Cordelia. But it's a sound interpretation that the Fool could've likely been caught up in the sisters' machinations, and met this kind of sticky end.
No, I don't have other reviews, but wish I could see more productions like this one, and have the chance to write about them. It's fun.
Sorry, I don't know if this is the first ever staging of the Fool's hanging. I'm not a specialist or scholar, just an admirer. Yes, indeed, the reference by Lear to his poor hung fool probably refers to Cordelia. But it's a sound interpretation that the Fool could've likely been caught up in the sisters' machinations, and met this kind of sticky end.
No, I don't have other reviews, but wish I could see more productions like this one, and have the chance to write about them. It's fun.
7the_dolls_dressmaker
I just saw A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
I'm not any sort of expert, at all, but I'm a pretty harsh critic when it comes to Shakespeare adaptations... :P
But all I have to say was that it was truly fantastic.
I'm not any sort of expert, at all, but I'm a pretty harsh critic when it comes to Shakespeare adaptations... :P
But all I have to say was that it was truly fantastic.
10abbottthomas
We were lucky enough to see an early preview of McKellen's Lear at Stratford. Frances Barber (Goneril) had just damaged her knee and was hobbling around before deciding that she had to go off for surgery. It was a good evening.
Another good Lear was Derek Jacobi in Michael Grandage's Donmar Warehouse production. London tickets were on offer for £300 on eBay but we managed to see it at normal prices in Truro!
I have booked up to see Jonathan Pryce in the role at the Almeida next year but the recent-ish Lear I regret missing was Pete Postlethwaite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgLh3ejVT2M
Another good Lear was Derek Jacobi in Michael Grandage's Donmar Warehouse production. London tickets were on offer for £300 on eBay but we managed to see it at normal prices in Truro!
I have booked up to see Jonathan Pryce in the role at the Almeida next year but the recent-ish Lear I regret missing was Pete Postlethwaite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgLh3ejVT2M
11Naren559
In Ian McKellan's DVD, of King Lear, during the DVD's Special features, McKellen is interviewed about his acting career and specifically about his interpretation of the Lear role. McKellen maintains that a really good actor will ordinarily develop a "back story" for the character being portrayed. Whereas Shakespeare does provide clues, in his plays, for a back story, according to McKellen, Shakespeare does not do this for King Lear; thus one is hard-put to develop one, which McLellen does admirably. In the DVD movie, the fool is shown actually being hanged, however, Lear's lines, in his last scene, can be interpreted as applying to Cordelia (see #5 above).
12Muscogulus
The Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery always puts on good Shakespeare productions. The one that has done the most to transform my understanding of a play was Troilus and Cressida, several years ago.
The most recent one Ive seen them do is The Merry Wives of Windsor, done in an Edwardian setting for reasons that escaped me. This may be the toughest comedy to stage. It strikes me that even its initial success depended on the established popularity of the Falstaff character and the specific associations with Windsor — neither of which had to be explained to the first audiences, but neither of which are present to support modern productions. Without that support, the play can get tedious, as it quickly becomes obvious which way the plot is heading.
This weekend we are looking forward to ASF's Henry VIII. Clearly they dont go for the easy wins!
The most recent one Ive seen them do is The Merry Wives of Windsor, done in an Edwardian setting for reasons that escaped me. This may be the toughest comedy to stage. It strikes me that even its initial success depended on the established popularity of the Falstaff character and the specific associations with Windsor — neither of which had to be explained to the first audiences, but neither of which are present to support modern productions. Without that support, the play can get tedious, as it quickly becomes obvious which way the plot is heading.
This weekend we are looking forward to ASF's Henry VIII. Clearly they dont go for the easy wins!
13Muscogulus
The ASF (Montgomery, Alabama) production of Henry VIII was one of the most memorable of the many Shakespeare productions I've seen, either in the USA or UK. This company certainly doesn't shy away from challenges, and in this case they succeeded in turning what could have been just a pageant of royal clothes-horses into a rich character study of Henry, as well as an essay on politics.
I understand that the director first staged the play at the Folger Theatre in Washington. One coup was the creation of a Chorus character, modeled on Henry's jester, Will Sommers, who takes on several minor roles in the play, sharing the secret of his identity with the audience, thus placing an ironic cast over the action. Shakespeare (and his co-author) labored under constraints in writing about the uncle of the reigning monarch, so for instance we see only the first two of Henry's six wives, and the christening of Elizabeth is the play's patriotic climax. Elder sister Mary, the bane of Protestants, is seen but not heard. (Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon, is a surprisingly strong and sympathetic character, played here with a lovely Castilian accent.)
In brief, the play only deals with young Henry, not fat Henry. Even so, this production worked with the text to enter into Henry's flashes of rage, frustration, and finally his isolation at the pinnacle of the state. It was breathtaking.
I understand that the director first staged the play at the Folger Theatre in Washington. One coup was the creation of a Chorus character, modeled on Henry's jester, Will Sommers, who takes on several minor roles in the play, sharing the secret of his identity with the audience, thus placing an ironic cast over the action. Shakespeare (and his co-author) labored under constraints in writing about the uncle of the reigning monarch, so for instance we see only the first two of Henry's six wives, and the christening of Elizabeth is the play's patriotic climax. Elder sister Mary, the bane of Protestants, is seen but not heard. (Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon, is a surprisingly strong and sympathetic character, played here with a lovely Castilian accent.)
In brief, the play only deals with young Henry, not fat Henry. Even so, this production worked with the text to enter into Henry's flashes of rage, frustration, and finally his isolation at the pinnacle of the state. It was breathtaking.
14Podras.
August 29, we saw Two Gentlemen of Verona at the open air theater in San Diego's Old Globe complex. It is likely Shakespeare's earliest comedy and is pretty unsophisticated compared with nearly everything else he wrote. For the most part, the acting style was pretty broad. Lance, the servant/clown, brought a real dog on stage for his scenes. Fortunately, the dog was better behaved than in the story Lance told about him at a party at which Lance took a beating to save Crab, the dog, from the consequences of relieving himself there.
I was really curious about how one of the final scenes in Act V would be handled. Proteus has become intensely obsessed with Silvia, his friend Valentine's love, though Proteus is supposed to be in love with Julia with whom he has exchanged rings. Rebuffed by Silvia who despises him, Proteus is about to:
" ... woo you like a soldier, at arms end,
And love you 'gainst the nature of love: force ye."
This, of course, happens right in front of Julia who is secretly disguised as a boy. Valentine is a covert witness and steps in at this point. Proteus quickly expresses extreme contrition, and just a few lines later, for the sake of their friendship, Valentine offers Proteus "All that was mine in Silvia" to him.
I understand that this has been a problem for critics who usually explain it as a sign of how strong male-male friendships were in Elizabethan times versus male-female friendships, though I'm not sure I buy that. I keep trying (unsuccessfully) to come up with alternate explanations for this very strange behavior. In any case, I wanted to see how this production handled it.
They didn't alter the text, however the comedic tone suddenly gave way to a very serious and very real acting style up through the point at which Valentine offered "All that was mine in Silvia" to Proteus. Silvia stepped back from Valentine and gave him a long drawn out, absolutely perfect, you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look, after which Julia fainted and the comedic tone resumed, though Proteus' contrition scene with Julia was serious, too.
Proteus' role was the best part and best acted, it had to be for his sudden obsession with Silvia to play out, but the dog got the most applause at the end. We enjoyed it--it is, after all, still Shakespeare's language.
I was really curious about how one of the final scenes in Act V would be handled. Proteus has become intensely obsessed with Silvia, his friend Valentine's love, though Proteus is supposed to be in love with Julia with whom he has exchanged rings. Rebuffed by Silvia who despises him, Proteus is about to:
" ... woo you like a soldier, at arms end,
And love you 'gainst the nature of love: force ye."
This, of course, happens right in front of Julia who is secretly disguised as a boy. Valentine is a covert witness and steps in at this point. Proteus quickly expresses extreme contrition, and just a few lines later, for the sake of their friendship, Valentine offers Proteus "All that was mine in Silvia" to him.
I understand that this has been a problem for critics who usually explain it as a sign of how strong male-male friendships were in Elizabethan times versus male-female friendships, though I'm not sure I buy that. I keep trying (unsuccessfully) to come up with alternate explanations for this very strange behavior. In any case, I wanted to see how this production handled it.
They didn't alter the text, however the comedic tone suddenly gave way to a very serious and very real acting style up through the point at which Valentine offered "All that was mine in Silvia" to Proteus. Silvia stepped back from Valentine and gave him a long drawn out, absolutely perfect, you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look, after which Julia fainted and the comedic tone resumed, though Proteus' contrition scene with Julia was serious, too.
Proteus' role was the best part and best acted, it had to be for his sudden obsession with Silvia to play out, but the dog got the most applause at the end. We enjoyed it--it is, after all, still Shakespeare's language.
