Thursday, October 19, 2017
Stratford 2018 puts women in male Shakespeare roles
Toronto Star: Cross-gender casting in Shakespeare productions has been a headline-grabbing trend over several years, part of efforts to increase gender equity onstage and provide fresh takes on well-known works. But with four female Stratford veterans taking traditionally male lead roles next summer, this approach is fast becoming a mainstream, commonplace choice.
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Casting women in these roles is so unbelievably important, and I’m so thrilled that I get to witness Shakespeare evolving this way. A lot of the time, I feel like feminism is viewed as an “anti-male” movement, bringing women up while still showing the “flaws” in men and the patriarchy. In actuality, it is about leveling the playing field, showing the good in both women and men and the flaws in both women and men. In Julius Caesar specifically, Caesar was a ruthless, masculine ruler. This role has always been portrayed by a masculine male, associating power and manipulation with a male figure. Replacing a male actor with a woman speaks very loudly to the audience; it not only shows that women can be in a position of power, but also that they can be just as manipulative and crooked and the opposite of everything women were in most theater of the times. The actress looks like she is an unstoppable cruel force. On the flip side, I also believe men should be cast in traditional female roles, showing that they can have and embrace femininity. Creating this equal ground of understanding through theater is so wonderful. I’m excited to see this continue in the future.
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