We talked about different adaptations of Shakespeare's plays and the introduction of modern elements in productions during our last class. I was intrigued by the idea of the different ways that Shakespeare is meshed with the modern world and so I looked at a couple of different performance reviews that incorporated different modern elements like costumes, dance routines, acting techniques etc . . . Then I came across a website by David Crystal about original pronunciation that was very exciting. It talked about how in almost every modern production of Shakespeare there is one element that is always modern. The way we speak. He has worked tirelessly to promote using the original pronunciation (or OP) in Shakespeare plays. I found the idea very interesting and looked up Midsummer Night's Dream on the website and, sure enough, in 2010 KU had done an entire production using OP with help from David Crystal.
Here is their website with part of the scene where Helena wakes up Lysander. It is amazing! The lines flow incredibly well and, perhaps most interestingly, several of the lines that just don't rhyme in our modern English (like
eye and
insufficiency in two of Helena's lines) rhyme in this production. This is the pronunciation that Shakespeare originally intended when he crafted his play and it is worth a watch!
How do you a think a true phonetic adaptation would be received? I would definitely be interested.
ReplyDeleteI watched the clip and it is definitely an interesting idea. I didn't know that Shakespearean English or the pronunciation was that far off, but it does sound even more beautiful when spoken the way Shakespeare intended it. However, I do think it makes it less accessible. I think some audiences would like to hear the original production of plays, but I think most would prefer hearing something that was a little easier to understand.
ReplyDeleteI think the emphasis on doing the play exactly as Shakespeare intended is interesting. Like I talked about in my post, I don't see why modern adaptations need to be completely faithful to the text, or in this case, the pronunciation. I can see the aesthetic advantages to performing it in the original pronunciation, but I definitely don't think every production needs to be performed this way.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be absolutely amazing to watch an entire production this way. I'm a fan of understanding author intent and using that to interpret text. And also, it is just incredibly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds so pretty! I'm partial to using our current pronunciation simply because it makes Shakespeare more accessible to a wider audience, but the nerd in me would love to see a play produced with the proper phonetics (after reading the play first to understand best what's going on!).
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