Sunday, July 14, 2013
"Go forth and have more talk of these sad things": Reflections on creating political theater
HowlRound: When I set out to produce Juliet & Romeo, a queered adaptation of Romeo & Juliet featuring two women as the star-crossed lovers, I knew that I wanted to focus on three themes—homelessness, suicide, and hate crimes. These themes already exist within the text of Romeo & Juliet and are all prevalent issues within the LGBTQ community. I am constantly amazed at how this story and four hundred-year-old text has the ability to be a stark reflection of the world that we live in today. Little did I know how pressing these themes would become during the rehearsal process of this show.
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Political theatre is always an interesting subject. I think that political theatre has a purpose and can be a really powerful way to tell a story. But, I have to say that I am not totally on board with re-writing existing pieces for political purposes. All pieces have their own message. There a plenty of problems in the world and playwrights chose one of those issues to address in their shows, if its political. Even though the actors and designs change, the fundamental idea of the show is still there. If one wants to address certain issues in a play, like LGBTQA rights, then one should either find an existing play about it or write a new one. Overall, I fully support political theatre especially when it relates to current issues.
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