Also by Anthony B. Dawson INDIRECTIONS: SHAKESPEARE AND THE ART OF ILLUSION

Transcription

1 WATCHING SHAKESPEARE

2 Also by Anthony B. Dawson INDIRECTIONS: SHAKESPEARE AND THE ART OF ILLUSION

3 Watching Shakespeare A Playgoers' Guide ANTHONY B. DAWSON Associate Professor of English and Drama University of British Columbia M MACMILLAN PRESS

4 Anthony B. Dawson 1988 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1988 Published by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world Typeset by Wessex Typesetters (Division of The Eastern Press Ltd) Frome, Somerset British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Dawson, Anthony B. Watching Shakespeare: a playgoers' guide. 1. Shakespeare, William-Stage history I. Title 792.9'5 PR3091 ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI /

5 For Honey

6 There is a fourth creator in addition to the author, the director and the actor- namely the spectator... from the friction between the actor's creativity and the spectator's imagination, a clear flame is kindled. (Vsevolod Meyerhold)

7 Contents List of Plates viii Preface xi Introduction 1 1 A Midsummer Night's Dream 15 2 The Merchant of Venice 26 3 As You Like It 39 4 Twelfth Night 51 5 Measure for Measure 63 6 Richard II 77 7 Henry IV, Part Henry IV, Part Henry V Romeo and Juliet Julius Caesar Hamlet Othello King Lear Macbeth Coriolanus The Winter's Tale The Tempest 231 Notes 242 Index 256 vii

8 List of Plates 1 A Midsummer Night's Dream (1970): Bottom in Titania's bower, with Oberon and Puck overseeing their delights. (Photo: Joe Cocks Studio, Shakespeare Centre Library) 2 The Merchant of Venice (1978): Shylock in his office with Jessica. (Photo: Joe Cocks Studio) 3 Twelfth Night (1969): midnight antics at Olivia's house, interrupted by Malvolio. (Photo: Tom Holte Theatre Photographic Collection, Shakespeare Centre Library) 4 Measure for Measure (1950): the Duke brings light to the darkened prison. (Photo: Angus McBean, Harvard Theatre Collection) 5 Richard II (1973): Richard's return to England, his 'horse' in the background. (Photo: Tom Holte Theatre Photographic Collection, Shakespeare Centre Library) 6 Henry IV, Part 1 (1975): Falstaff plays the mock-king, as Hal gets ready to unseat him. (Photo: Tom Holte Theatre Collection, Shakespeare Centre Library) 7 Henry V (1975): the King responds with pain as he surveys the massacre. (Photo: Joe Cocks Studio, Shakespeare Centre Library) 8 Hamlet (1965): David Warner's wistful Prince, scarf in hand, surrounded by Establishment gloss. (Photo: Tom Holte Theatre Photographic Collection, Shakespeare Centre Library) 9 Hamlet (1975): pin-striped Claudius confronts a resilient Hamlet. (Photo: Joe Cocks Studio, Shakespeare Centre Library) 10 Othello (1964): early in the play, Olivier's exotic dynamism. (Photo: Angus McBean, Harvard Theatre Collection) 11 Othello (1964): later, Othello reduced to despair and powerlessness. (Photo: Angus McBean, Harvard Theatre Collection) 12 King Lear (1962): Lear enthroned in power, demanding tribute from his daughters. (Photo: Angus McBean, Harvard Theatre Collection) 13 King Lear (1962): the Fool parodying his master, entertaining Lear and his rowdy knights. (Photo: Angus McBean, Harvard Theatre Collection) viii

9 List of Plates ix 14 Macbeth (1955): 'Give me the daggers.' (Photo: Angus McBean, Harvard Theatre Collection) 15 Coriolanus (1959): Olivier hanging upside down in spectacular defeat and Aufidius in ignominious triumph. (Photo: Angus McBean, Harvard Theatre Collection) 16 The Winter's Tale (1978): Hermione returns to life. (Photo: Robert Ragsdale, FRPS. Reproduced by permission of the Stratford Festival Theatre.) 17 The Tempest (1976): Prospera lords it over a submissive Ariel. (Photo: Robert Ragsdale, FRPS. Reproduced by permission of the Stratford Festival Theatre.)

10 Preface Glancing through the bookstall at a major festival theatre a few years ago, I was surprised to observe that, among the many books about Shakespeare, there did not seem to be one available that would exactly suit the needs of most of the audience members who were at that moment browsing around. Since for many years I have been reading, writing about, teaching and acting in Shakespeare's plays, I set myself the task of filling what I saw as a need. The present book is the result. It has been written specifically with the interests of the playgoer in mind. I have tried to approach each play from the point of view of key decisions about it that actors and director must make in order to put it on the stage. Audiences aware of such issues will, I believe, be better able to understand and assess what they see. Since Shakespeare's plays are so various, and the imaginations of performing artists so fertile, the possibilities for performance are almost limitless. Nevertheless, each play poses particular questions and challenges which performers have to face. In discussing these, I have drawn extensively on recent (and not so recent) production history, giving as many examples as I could to illustrate varying approaches. The range of examples will, I hope, make the book useful for students as well as playgoers, indeed for anyone interested in what happens to Shakespeare's plays on the stage. Since I wanted to handle the oppositions and balances of each play thoroughly, I could not afford to skimp on my treatment of any one. I have thus had to limit the number of plays covered. Still, I have managed to include just about half of them, concentrating on those most frequently performed. Some very popular plays (The Taming of the Shrew, Merry Wives, Much Ado about Nothing) I have unfortunately had to leave out, choosing rather to deal with texts that present more complex problems. Some of my selections and omissions may not meet with universal approval, but I was guided by a sense of the theatrical issues raised by a particular play as well as by personal preference. I have grouped the plays by generic category, comedies, histories, tragedies and romances, and have ordered them chronologically within each category. And I have included an introduction that deals briefly with some important background: the contribution of the audience to the stage event, xi

11 xii Preface general trends in twentieth-century production of Shakespeare, the role of the director and the designer, and the crucial place of the actor. An effective way for a playgoer to use the book would be to read the relevant chapter either shortly before or shortly after going to see a performance. (I have assumed at least vague familiarity with the characters and plot.) For anyone studying the plays or deprived of the opportunity of seeing them performed, I would hope that reading this book would make it easier to imagine them on the stage, where they were meant to be. Television and films help, but they are not the ideal media for Shakespeare. I have therefore not paid them too much attention, although I have discussed some of the most outstanding films and taken a few examples from the widely available BBC series. I have been at work on this book for some time now and have incurred a number of debts: to the staff at the Harvard Theatre Collection and at the Shakespeare Memorial Library in Stratfordupon-Avon; to Dan Ladell at the Festival archives in Stratford, Ontario; to friends and colleagues who have read and commented on parts of the manuscript, especially Crispin Elsted, Joel Kaplan, Peter Schwenger and Herb Weil; to secretaries Jody Harper and Doreen Todhunter; and to Frances Arnold at the Macmillan Press. My dedication records a different, and much deeper, debt.