Kenneth Branagh's Twelfth Night

I watched Twelfth Night, directed by Branagh.  Viola is played by Frances Barber, who plays Goneril in the Ian McKellen version of King Lear.  The movie is reminiscent of that version of King Lear in that it sits somewhere between a play and a movie. For all but two brief scenes (Viola and Sebastian after their shipwreck), the action happens in two sets, which are Olivia’s yard and Duke Orsino’s yard. The entire film takes place outside.  The scene in which Malvolio is picked on happens in Olivia’s yard where he is imprisoned in a sort of cellar. The colors are very subdued. Malvolio, played by Leonato from Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing, is quite old.  This makes his desire to win Olivia over seem even more presumptuous, but does not take away from his pitiable state at the end of the play which incites a lot of sympathy.

The overall mood of the movie is not very comedic.  It keeps all of Shakespeare’s language, but puts emphasis on the melancholy aspects of the play.  The subdued colors add to this, as does the portrayal of the fool.  He seems to have strong and obviously unrequited feelings for Olivia.  The only really funny character to me in the film is Sir Andrew Aguecheek, whose lack of wit is very entertaining.  This was surprising to me because he only annoyed me while I read the play. His part turns melancholic, too, however.  It was very interesting to see this interpretation of Twelfth Night and it enhanced my understanding of the play.  

Love's Labour's Lost: Live from Shakespeare's Globe

I love that the library has the "Films on Demand" resource available to us! I also am glad that the Globe makes these recordings available. I now have a very strong desire to visit the Globe. It was so fun to see the theater in person instead of just described. I loved all the interaction between the actors and the audience. I knew that there would be some interaction because of what I had already heard, but I underestimated the extent. I loved the deer especially. When the deer was shot and the actor carrying the puppet made it fall down, it was funny to watch the reactions of the audience members who were close by. The actors were constantly running in and out among the audience members and it was fun to watch.

I also loved the arrangement of the stage. It is a very unusual shape and at one point there were two actors who were standing on either side of the little gap talking to each other. It was so funny to watch the audience members go back and forth watching. I think that if I ever go to the Globe I would rather be on the ground than in a box. I think the experience would be much more rich.

This play is hilarious. The actors do a great job at sticking to the original language, but also keeping the performance current. Their movements/dances were current (as Jessica mentioned in her post) and their use of the stage was so entertaining! The stage had very little on it, and so it was left to the performers to create the environment and feeling. They did a great job and had great movement on the stage. Their movements were very large and expressive, something that you have to do on a stage like that (and in a venue like that). I also really loved the different accents of the performers. I was expecting everyone to sound British. :)

I think watching this play gave me a better appreciation for the play than I would have gained just reading it. I will definitely be using this website to watch more Shakespeare films in the future!

As You Like It: Live from the Globe

I choose As You Like It because it was one that I wasn't familiar with.  Watching the recording from the Globe was AMAZING!!! It would be awesome to visit someday but this was a really good substitute for my college budget.  (You really can't beat free!)  I loved this performance because the players were interacting with the audience: fighting down by the groundlings, running away from each other INTO THE AUDIENCE, heckling the other players from the back, etc etc.  The songs also brought an interesting twist because I wasn't quite used to those melodies or harmonies that were sung, and so it brought a more authentic feel to the performance. 

However, it was interesting that it wasn't until Rosalind was picking up poetry from the forest that I realized I actually had seen this play before.  It was produced at my middle school and obviously was shortened and condensed to appropriate for younger audiences which is why I didn't quite recognize it at first.  Although both performances were enjoyable and I was laughing out loud, the Globe version is superior because when they started dancing at the end they incorporated both Shakespearean and modern dancing.  The audience recognized popular moves and clapped and cheered along with the actors.  I felt that it made the experience more realistic because that's exactly what Shakespeare would have done when his plays were originally performed.  It was perfect!