Playing Shakespeare

We are Shakespeare people.

The contents of our bookshelves, the DVDs in our collection, even the phrases we use in everyday life give us away. Who else has six copies of Julius Caesar just sitting around on their shelves? Who else gets excited over a new production of Hamlet? Who else quotes Shakespeare on a daily basis? Only Shakespeare people.

And, being Shakespeare people, we of course got excited when we heard about a DVD of Shakespearian master classes called Playing Shakespeare. It’s a series where Shakespearian actors go through some of the technical, parts of the scripts and act out parts of the plays to illustrate points.

It might sound a bit dull, but we found we really enjoy it. Who could fail to get the idea of putting emotion into words when the actor of Gandalf shows the different ways to do it, with often hilarious results? Who could fail to remember iambic pentameter when the actors play around with it and end up making a complete mess of the line?

There are so many things we are learning from these master classes. And it’s interesting to see what we have already learnt in our other Shakespearian studies. We’d already studied iambic pentameter before, but hearing it in action really fixed it in our minds.

There's nine episodes in this series, and we’ve only watched two. So many delightful Shakespearian things still left to learn. We’re looking forwards to the rest of this DVD.

Yes, we are Shakespeare people, with our bookshelves full of scripts, and our heads full of quotes. We’re enthusing over DVDs of Shakespearian acting classes and eyeing with pleasure a stack of Hamlet DVDs.

We are Shakespeare people, and happy to be so.

Short Shakespeareans

"Who's behind the mask?" Gemma-Rose whispers, trying not to interrupt the movie while trying to understand what's going.
It's Benedict," someone else whispers back. "Watch what happens next."
And so we sit in our armchairs, snuggled under our furry blankets, watching our favourite Shakespeare play. Finally, the end credits roll over the screen and we all sigh.

"Well, what did you think of that version?" Mum asks as we pack up from the morning's work and start making lunch.
"Well, it was ok, but I liked Kenneth Branagh's version better," Charlotte says.
Lunch is made, the table and lunch is served while we discuss the differences between the productions, which was more faithful, what made one better than the other, and which characters were played well, or otherwise.

"You know," some puts in later, "Shakespeare's plays were performed for the common people. And they understood it all. Imagine normal people watching it today. They wouldn't understand it half so well."

"I understand it," Gemma-Rose protests.
"But you've been watching and listening to it for years," we explain. "Most people don't study Shakespeare like we do."

It's a pity too. We've always enjoyed reading Shakespeare's plays, making sense of the unusual words as we go. The numerous battered copies of various plays that litter our shelves bears witness to our love of the subject. Unlike most teenagers I know, no one has to force me to read them.

Last September at a homeschooling camp, one of the mothers decided to teach the teenagers a Shakespeare play that they would perform for the rest of the camp. The initial reaction was groans and complaints. I on the other hand was rejoicing. What an opportunity!

Throughout the week we rehearsed the play, an abbreviated version of Macbeth. As the others got into the play I could tell that they were enjoying it. Gone were the bored looks, the murmuring in the corners. Instead it was replaces by enthusiasm and enjoyment. Everyone worked hard, two and a half days isn't very long to prepare a play in.

The performance went well on stage. Behind the scenes we were rushing around like headless chooks, trying to get the right people into position for the next scenes. But despite the jostling, everyone was smiling. At the end, when it was all over, I overheard one of the boys saying, "I really enjoyed that. I hope we can do another one. But a comedy next time."

I believe that Shakespeare is for everyone, not just dusty old scholars sitting in their musty rooms. Anyone can understand and enjoy Shakespeare's plays, no matter what age they are. I mean, if a seven year old can watch them and enjoy them, anyone can.