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Thus far I've been in two productions of Midsummer, and have seen many other, including film adaptations. I've even read books based around the simpler plot points of the show. I've learned one major thing in these experiences-something that has been pointed out by many students in the class in various posts and comments. Shakespeare can be interpreted infinite ways. Right now I'd specifically like to touch on comedy. Midsummer is a comedy. It has a rise, and a fall, and it has a conclusion that doesn't end in people dying! Unless you count the play within the play, which we probably shouldn't. Anyway, in the productions I've seen and participated in, the show is invariably funny. However, it does vary in the ways in which it presents the comedy. The text itself is hilarious, filled with word play, and situational comedy, as well as even the perfectly timed, purposeful flubbing of lines that Peter Quince brings to the stage whilst reading the prologue. It's a funny play, no matter how you play it. But when watching the production I am in currently, you'll find a much more emotional production, playing on the situations and the lines, and using the comedy that has already been built into the show, as well as physical comedy. When watching the Grassroots revival a year ago though, myself and the rest of the audience was struck by the absolutely hysterical all-male cast, that played every aspect as a farce. Not a line was serious, and not a single moment was meant to inspire anything except laughter. And again, I have seen other productions where the only comedy was the text and the set, or the text and a specific actor used as a running gag throughout the show. As we read the play we can see a great deal of comedic writing, but we can also look deeper at the characters and dig into their situations and motivations to find either the emotion that lies underneath, or the comedy that we can conjure.
But even the play within a play is like an amped up version of a SNL sketch. The only authentic moment involving the players that I've ever seen played straight is Thisbee's death (and sometimes Bottom's speech earlier in the act). I don't know if directors are trying to say something about love or say something about death, but it's always interesting to see how they handle that moment.
ReplyDeleteI think that really shows us how great of a writer Shakespeare was. He was able to write this play that is hilarious, yet like you said, there are still layers and layers of meaning that we can get out of it underneath. It is so awesome, and that really is why we are still reading his plays hundreds of years later.
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