SHAKSPER 1998: Re: All-Male H5

From: Hardy M. Cook (editor@ws.bowiestate.edu)
Date: 07/16/98 

The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 9.0660  Thursday, 16 July 1998.

From:           Judy Lewis <judy.m.lewis@clear.net.nz>
Date:           Wednesday, 15 Jul 1998 07:32:31 +1200
Subject: 9.0645  The New Globe 1998
Comment:        Re: SHK 9.0645  The New Globe 1998


> Authenticity Disregarded: last season's Henry V used male actors for
> the female roles, and it worked in the context of that play (which has
> few female characters and none in leading parts), and for the purpose > of showing us as closely as possible what the original looked like.

I am rather dubious about the total success of the all-male production
of Henry V - at least for the performance I saw.  The groundlings were
encouraged to be as noisy and responsive as it is supposed they were in
Shakespeare's day - and that is OK with me - but modern audiences,
especially young people, do not have sufficient experience to know how
to respond appropriately.  In this production, Mistress Quickly was
played as a comic drag act, and got huge laughs.  I am happy to accept
that this is 'authentic'; I doubt if it is a C20 idea for men to be
inordinately amused at seeing other men wearing false breasts.
Unfortunately, when the splendid young man playing Princess Katherine
came on, he was received in a similar manner by the largely teenage
(school party) groundlings - and this, I am certain, is not what
Shakespeare would have intended or wanted.  The wooing scene in this
play is one of Shakespeare's most delightful and Katherine must be taken
seriously as a 'woman' if it is to be truly appreciated.  To have a
rowdy 'nudge nudge wink wink' audience response is to destroy the magic.


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