Popular Shakespeare
Palgrave Shakespeare Studies General Editors: Michael Dobson and Gail Kern Paster Editorial Advisory Board: Michael Neill, University of Auckland; David Schalkwyk, University of Capetown; Lois D. Potter, University of Delaware; Margreta de Grazia, Queen Mary University of London; Peter Holland, University of Notre Dame Palgrave Shakespeare Studies takes Shakespeare as its focus but strives to understand the significance of his oeuvre in relation to his contemporaries, subsequent writers and historical and political contexts. By extending the scope of Shakespeare and English Renaissance Studies the series will open up the field to examinations of previously neglected aspects or sources in the period s art and thought. Titles in the Palgrave Shakespeare Studies series seek to understand anew both where the literary achievements of the English Renaissance came from and where they have brought us. Titles include: Pascale Aebischer, Edward J. Esche and Nigel Wheale (editors) REMAKING SHAKESPEARE Performance across Media, Genres and Cultures Mark Thornton Burnett FILMING SHAKESPEARE IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE David Hillman SHAKESPEARE S ENTRAILS Belief, Scepticism and the Interior of the Body Jane Kingsley-Smith SHAKESPEARE S DRAMA OF EXILE Stephen Purcell POPULAR SHAKESPEARE Simulation and Subversion on the Modern Stage Paul Yachnin and Jessica Slights SHAKESPEARE AND CHARACTER Theory, History, Performance, and Theatrical Persons Forthcoming titles: Timothy Billings GLOSSING SHAKESPEARE Erica Sheen SHAKESPEARE AND THE INSTITUTION OF THE THEATRE Palgrave Shakespeare Studies Series Standing Order ISBN 978-1403-911643 (hardback) 978-1403-911650 (paperback) (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England
Popular Shakespeare Simulation and Subversion on the Modern Stage Stephen Purcell
Stephen Purcell 2009 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-57703-9 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-36687-3 DOI 10.1057/9780230234222 ISBN 978-0-230-23422-2 (ebook) This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
Contents List of Figures Preface Acknowledgements vi vii viii Personal Narrative 1 Ambiguous Applause 1 1 Popular Shakespeares 4 Personal Narrative 2 Stand-up Shakespeare 27 2 Text and Metatext: Shakespeare and Anachronism 30 Personal Narrative 3 Jeffrey Archer: The One that Got Away 56 3 A Play Extempore : Interpolation, Improvisation, and Unofficial Speech 60 Personal Narrative 4 A Bit Sexist 93 4 It s like a Shakespeare play! : Parodic Appropriations of Shakespeare 95 Personal Narrative 5 Blasphemy 139 5 Shakespeare s Popular Audience: Reconstructions and Deconstructions 142 Personal Narrative 6 Alternative Endings 172 6 Shakespeare, Space, and the Popular 174 Personal Narrative 7 It s the famous bit! : Fragments of Romeo and Juliet 206 7 Shakespearean Samples 211 Personal Narrative 8 Rough Magic 222 Notes 225 Bibliography 234 Index 249 v
Figures 2.1 Víkingur Kristjánsson as Peter in Vesturport s Romeo and Juliet (2003), directed by Gísli Örn Gardarsson. Photograph by Eddi. Reproduced by kind permission of Artbox/Vesturport. 53 3.1 The Sticking Place The London team at Shall We Shog?, Shakespeare s Globe Theatre, 2005. With permission from The Sticking Place. 83 4.1 The Reduced Shakespeare Company performing at the 1987 Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Novato, California. Photograph by Garth Hagerman. 117 4.2 Mike Shepherd as Joan Puttock in Kneehigh s Cymbeline (2007). Photograph by Steve Tanner. 127 5.1 Company of Tim Supple and Dash Arts A Midsummer Night s Dream (2006). Photograph by Tristram Kenton. 147 6.1 The view from the circle at The Rose Theatre, Kingston. Photograph by Chris Pearsall. 195 vi
Preface Around halfway through my research for this project, I presented some of my findings to a small audience of students and academics at the University of Kent. Immediately afterwards, a debate arose between many of the parties present as to the effectiveness and indeed the verisimilitude of the way in which I had theorised and presented my experiences as a playgoer. In my eagerness to adopt a suitably scholarly tone, I had, argued some, neglected the more phenomenological aspects of theatregoing, attempting to categorise neatly, something which, by its subjective nature, cannot be fully expressed in rational, scientific terms. It was suggested to me by way of illustration that while a psychologist could accurately describe the process of falling in love in a detached and systematic manner, it would never be as full or as complete a description as might be found in a sonnet. While I am sure my colleague did not want me to write this book in rhyming pentameter, I took her suggestion very seriously. I had long been grappling with ways in which to synthesise my subjective experience (both as a playgoer and as a maker of theatre) with the more formal registers of academic writing; phrases like I felt and it seemed sat ill at ease beside a more strictly analytical mode of writing, and the conclusions I drew were inevitably very personal and utterly unverifiable. I soon realised, however, that my mistake had been to attempt any kind of synthesis at all. This book, as will become apparent, is concerned throughout with the conflicting registers of performance which often exist unreconciled within the same theatrical event, and with the tension between identification and critical detachment that this instils within its audience. It seems logical that form should echo content, and as such I have woven in between the more conventionally scholarly chapters a thread of unashamedly subjective narratives, largely untheorised, and employing a wider range of writing registers. I am unapologetic that I have made no attempt to make these disparate elements cohere; they will, I hope, bring at least a measure of theatre s plurality of meaning to the book itself. If not, you can always skip straight to the next scholarly bit. vii
Acknowledgements The author and publisher wish to thank the following for permission to reproduce copyright material: Artbox/Vestuport for the image from Romeo and Juliet (2003); Adam Meggido and The Sticking Place (www.thestickingplace.com) for the image from Shall We Shog? (2005); Garth Hagerman and Daniel Singer for the image of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (1987); Steve Tanner and Kneehigh Theatre for the image from Cymbeline (2007); Dash Arts and The Corner Shop PR for the image from A Midsummer Night s Dream (2006); The Rose Theatre, Kingston, for the image of the theatre (2007). Every effort has been made to trace rights holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers would be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity. Thanks are also due to the many theatre practitioners who gave up their time to discuss their ideas with me, including John Russell Brown, Annie Castledine, James Garnon, Scott Handy, Richard Henders, Marcello Magni, Malcolm Rennie, Toby Sedgwick, and Pete Talbot. The ideas which form the basis of this book owe much to the innumerable discussions I have had over the years with delegates at the annual British Graduate Shakespeare Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon; I should also like to express my gratitude to all the staff and students of the Drama department at the University of Kent particularly those who participated in my exploratory workshops, and all those who took part in the various debates about performance documentation which proved so influential in determining the eventual shape and form of this book. I should particularly like to thank Professors Robert Shaughnessy and Russell Jackson for their warm and encouraging responses to the project, and Paula Kennedy and Steven Hall at Palgrave Macmillan for their swift and enthusiastic work in bringing the book to print. I must also thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council, without whose financial support this project would have been very difficult. viii
Acknowledgements ix I am enormously grateful to the actors (and friends) with whom I have been lucky enough to work over the last few years: Sarah Norton, Martin Gibbons, Caitlin Storey, Mark Hayward, Dominic Conway, Oli Seadon, Dave Hughes, Daisy Orton, Nina Satterley, Clare Beresford, Tom Hughes, Bethan Morgan, Holly Hawkins, Iain Tessier, Ian McKee, Sam Pay, James Groom, and Haydn Pryce-Jenkins. Without their creativity, enthusiasm, imagination, and willingness to experiment, this book would have remained untouched by the many insights generated by our practical work together. Lastly, I d like to offer special thanks to Oliver Double, for his guidance and friendship; to Kasia Ladds, for her inexhaustible patience and encouragement; to Anna Purcell, for her keen intelligence and close critical eye; and to my parents, John and Jan Purcell, for their unwavering support.