Saturday, September 5, 2015
Richard II, Actor Interpretation
The Grassroot's interpretation of Richard II was very interesting, from the live music to the impressive and intimate setting of the castle amphitheater. What startled me the most about the performance was the way that the actors chose to interpret the characters. The farewell to Bolingbroke that Aumerle described in act 1 scene 4 sounded vicious when I read it originally, but the actor chose to play it very comedic. He seemed insecure and would keep adding what he thought were harsh words against Bolingbroke depending on the reactions he got from the king. Like a kid that wants to impress his parents. It turned what I thought was a serious part of the play, which already has enough serious parts, into something completely different. It made more sense then when Aumerle pleads very pathetically at the end of the play with Bolingbroke to spare his life because he has already been established as a consistently pathetic character. I hadn't given Aumerle any thought when I was reading through the play before because his character seemed to blend in with some of the other minor dukes and lords but watching Grassroot's roots made me realize how much easier it is for a character to come alive when they are presented with a specific interpretation from the actors and not just read on the page.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I was also struck by how different it was to watch a play verses read the play. Some roles became funny, others seemed more important, and (like I said in my post) some roles you sympathize more with. Why do you think it makes such a major difference? I learned so much more and enjoyed it so much more that it made me want to swear to never read another Shakespeare play again. I only ever want to watch them!
ReplyDeleteI had a similar reaction as you two! Seeing the play performed live allows us to focus not only on the text but also on a variety of theatrical elements designed to add layers of meaning to the text. There's so much more to analyze, so it makes us English majors happy campers. :) Also, John, Aumerle stood out to me during the play, too! He really blended into the background in the text, but I agree with your comments about his pathetic nature in this particular adaptation.
DeleteI find when it is performed the lines stand out more because of the actors blocking and interpretation of the text. I really like the combination of reading the play beforehand and then watching it. That was the most I've ever gotten out of a play version because the play was so fresh in my mind!
DeleteThat's such a cool interpretation! I love when we see how differently a character can be portrayed than how we initially thought. That's kind of my experience with this play as well. My viewing of the movie was different because I saw the way that Richard was played and it was completely different than how I imagined him. It's a good reminder that Shakespeare's characters are established in all ways except how they are played. And that Shakespeare is pretty much devoid of stage direction haha.
ReplyDelete