Shakespeare Today

Analyse contemporary Shakespeare productions with reference to live performances you may have seen or clips or footage available online. You should comment on what you notice about them and how they differ from what you know about the original performance conditions of Shakespeare’s work? (Don’t be afraid to point out the obvious).

Consider how these productions are employing all the techniques, technology and resources of modern theatre.

Imogen, a modernized version of Shakespeare's Cymboline, was performed at the Globe in the autumn of 2016. The production and the set completely contradicted the traditional ideas of Shakespeare's plays; from the use of physical theatre and flying actors, to the costume and props. Like most people nowadays, the actors were covered in popular brands. The opposing families wore different brands, Nike and Adidas, which was a subtle way to make their identity clear without losing the new context that was created. Moreover, the whole beginning section was told in physical theatre with music aiding the atmosphere. Physical theatre it quite a new style of theatre, and defiantly wouldn't have been used in traditional Shakespeare plays, however they intertwined this new style seamlessly with the Elizabethan language. This allowed the audience to further their understand the story and the characters, even before the events of the play happened. Furthermore, all the characters were played by their written genders. For a woman to have the lead part was controversial for Shakespeare to have done in his era, but it would have never been performed by a women, instead a young boy would have taken on the role. The women of the play wore shorts, hoodies and didn't confine to the stereotypical ideas of women, which was how they were usually presented in most plays written in the 1600s. The one aspect of the play which matched Shakespearian style, was the stage. In a remodelled Globe Theatre, the play relied on daylight for lighting just like they would in the 1600s.

One of the biggest modernization of Twelfth Night, was the fact that they changed Malviolo to Malviola. The biggest effect of this was the fact that it had no effect on the play. It showed how in a lot of roles, gender doesn't matter because the emotion people feel and the way they react to events isn't determined by their gender, but by who they are. I found this very interesting when watching twelfth night, because there was nothing she said that I felt was out of place. Unlike Shakespearian plays in Elizabethan times, where the set was simple and the lighting was determined by the sun; the set of this production was intricate, detailed and life like. It constantly changed from scene to scene so that as an audience member, it was easy to surround yourself in the world of the play. It differed greatly from Shakespeare plays, especially the way the women were presented. Nowadays showing skin isn't a problem, but in the 1600s if a woman were to appear on stage in a swimming costume, as one of the actors did, the would be shunned. This elevated the play into modern day and once I was used to the old fashioned language which was still intact, it made it easy to forget that this play was written 100s of years ago.

Theatres, Actors and Acting in Shakespeare's Time

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/files/2014/01/actors.pdf

What were the theatres or ‘playhouses’ of Shakespeare’s time like and how were plays staged in them? 

Before the first playhouse was built, theatre was performed in yards and inn-houses. But in the 1600s, two types of playhouses were built. The first, the open air amphitheater where the audience would either stand around the stage or on seats, but these tickets were more expensive. This type of playhouse only put on shows during the summer months and plays were designed to b performed outside with natural daylight. The second type of theatre, are indoor halls, They were rectangular in shape, with the stage on one of the shorter sides. The most expensive tickets were right at the front, with the cheaper ones around the edges of the three sides of the stage. These indoor theatres allowed for more luxury and comfort. Playhouses were elaborately decorated inside. The stages rarely had set, but instead they had hangings such as painted pieces of cloth or curtains.

MAIN DIFFERENCES

• Indoor halls were suitable for all weather at any time of year, where as outdoors was just for summer
• open air theatres would often have noisy special effects which indoor theatres could not have as it would disturb the neighbours
• tickets to indoor playhouses were more expensive. Outdoor was 1 - 3 pennies, whereas indoor was 2 - 26
• everyone got a seat at indoor playhouses, the more expensive the ticket, the better the seat was in terms of where it was placed in the theatre
• food and drink was served in outdoor playhouses
• outdoor performances were lit by natural light, where as indoor performances were lit with candle light. This is why plays started having intervals, so there was time for the candles to get replaced
• the acoustics were better in indoor theatres, therefore their sound and music was more effective than outdoor theatres
• Because playhouses were indoors, the set and costumes could get reused regularly as they weren't ruined by weather

Who were the actors of Shakespeare’s plays and how did the experience of being an actor differ from the experience today?

In Shakespearean time actors were called players. All of the female characters were played by young boys, most of which were part of a company called the Children of the Chapel Royal. Travelling actors were not trusted in society. If they were to perform they'd have to prove their right to be there with licenses and making sure they met regulations because everyone would approach them with suspicion. However, actors who worked in purpose built theatres were very popular in society and were treated with great respect. Actors were part of companies and their size depended on how wealthy the company was and where they were working. A wealthy company would have 8 - 12 men and 3 - 4 boys.

Shakespeare's London and Elizabethan Audiences

WHAT WAS LONDON LIKE IN ELIZABETHAN TIMES AND WHO WERE THE PEOPLE ATTENDING THE THEATRE?


LONDON
London was the biggest city in England, and was home to the royal family and most of the nobility. It also held the first permanent playhouse. By the 1600 the number of people going to the theatre per week, rose to 20,000. During the Elizabethan rain, London grew from 50,000 residents to 200,000, mostly due to migration from Europe. A lot of people were losing jobs in the countryside, so moved to London in search of jobs. It was incredibly overcrowded which increased crime rate and also allowed disease to spread quicker.




The main part of the city was by the river thames because people got their water from there, it was incredibly crowded around there as everyone wanted to live near the biggest water supply. The housing was mostly apartment buildings for the middle class, but London also homed some of the richest mansions.

AUDIENCES
Because of the cheap prices of open air theatres, everyone was able to go to the theatre. Servants could spend their spare time there as the standing tickets were 1 penny, and wealthy men and women could buy the expensive seats. Royals would hire the performing company to come to them rather than going to a public theatre. The low prices was one of the biggest reasons for theatre's growing popularity during that time. For 2 pennies someone could sit on the lower bench, and for a penny more they could get a cushion to sit on. The cheapest tickets in an indoor theatre was 6 pennies. Theatre's gained most of their money through selling food during the performances, and also because of the bad reputation standing tickets had, most people would try and buy the more expensive ones. Getting a standing ticket made you seem poor and smelly because most people complained about the smell of the pit and in those times, reputation was important. Some audience members were purely there to be seen and to show off their expensive clothes. The audience were also very involved in the performances, they would cheer the hero and boo the villain. Because of the lack of fear the audience members had to show their appearance, the plays had to be exciting in order to not get booed off. A lot of plays would re tell famous stories to attract the audiences attention, and use violence and humor to surprise them. In 1629, a French company were hissed and had apple seeds thrown at them. This was because they had used women to play the female roles which the English audiences didn't agree with. Theares also had to fight for their audience as there was a lot of other entertainment they could go and see such as cock-fighting and bear-baiting. In fact theatre got band of Thursdays because people enjoyed bear-baiting so much.