I would agree that much of it is overdone…

Personally I can acknowledge the brilliance and legacy of Shakespeare while yet being honest that most of it bores the shit out of me, too … especially since it’s overdone, far, far overdone.

Re: Shakespeare…

I get what you’re saying…But what bugs me isn’t that we’re still producing the long-dead rich white man’s plays (I think many of them still speak to our modern humanity…not all, but many). No, what bugs me is when we claim to be producing a “definitive” version, or to be producing them as (we think) they were produced in Shakespeare’s day. I feel like the productions that make these claims tend to be dry, academic, and sanitized.

Shakespeare gets lost when we ignore the fact that his plays, though some are close, are not perfect. Many of them are problematic. They’re messy. And they were written on the fly to be performed, not to be read in classrooms. They tell dirty jokes, talk about sex, and seriously question the social order. And they’re full of life.

I guess what I love about them is that 400 odd years later, we still have not exhausted all possibilities. And how many modern works have been based on him?

And yes, I too think Baz Luhrmann’s R&J would have been improved by losing the dialogue.

All this being said, if you’re free next weekend and want to see Shakespeare in a parking lot, I’ll buy you a beer after the show ;)

Finally, re: theatre people. I’ve decided that the ones who aren’t awesome, aren’t really theatre people.

I love this! Let’s have more straight talk about what goes right and wrong on our productions.

Regarding Shakespeare. Sorry. It’s not you, it’s me. I’m ignorant and intolerant and gosh darn it the fact that we’re still producing plays written by a long-dead rich white man, well it just bugs me. Baz Luhrmann’s R&J wasn’t bad though, if you cut out the parts with dialogue.

Re: your #5. Theatre people are awesome. Agreed. Except for the ones who aren’t.

The past few weeks I’ve learned:

1. It is possible to cook chips and eggs perfectly on stage whilst delivering a rambling monologue to a wall.

2. Actors talking at each other instead of to each other can kill an otherwise good play and production. (Of course, I already knew this, but it was reinforced).

3. There comes a point in any production not going well where you have to accept the facts, set aside your ego, and do everything you can to pull it all together. Theatre is a team sport.

4. The Tragically Hip are still amazing, 26 years later. I realize this may not seem theatrical, but if you’ve seen them live, believe me, it’s theatre.

5. Theatre people are awesome beings.