HowlRound Theatre Commons: I want to talk about Shakespeare. Not Shakespeare the playwright or Shakespeare the poet, but, rather, Shakespeare the system—and what it means for all of us artists, educators, and administrators to be upholding that system. For clarification, the Shakespeare system is not simply Shakespeare’s written work, but the complex and oppressive role his work, legacy, and positionality hold in our contemporary society.
8 comments:
Throughout high school, I've had a love-hate relationship with Shakespeare. This included my feelings for each play (I hated Romeo and Juliet, but I convinced my teacher to let me read for Hamlet from beginning to end), but also for how it was taught. I have always been peeved with the fact that we rarely saw live productions, how he was heralded as the greatest writer of his time while using relatively simple language, and how, out of all the phenomenal plays out there, his were the ones we read, which very few people could understand. This, I believe, is what turns many people away from theater at a young age. Aside from this, though, ever since I read Othello I noticed a distinct lack of BIPOC characters in his plays who were not also portrayed as "savages". Then, later, I noticed a lack of BIPOC authors in our curriculum, and especially in the plays we read. I understand the emphasis of Shakespeare; practice in reading older English texts, Shakespeare's contribution to the English language, and the very blatant use of cliches, rhetoric, and story beats that are now used in nearly all media; but why read Shakespeare every year and neglect stories by more diverse authors, that use different types of storytelling that are equally as effective and useful, and would likely connect to a wider audience of students? As much as I love the re-contextualization of Shakespeare, there are plenty of plays that already have diverse contexts built in, and would likely be easier for younger readers to read.
Wow. I definitely feel called out by Madeline Sayet... but I am very grateful for it. I realize that i have idealized Shakespeare as a theater god. We are taught growing up that he was a genius with words and with storytelling. Not to minimize his influence- his work added thousands of words to the English language- But I agree that we have wrongfully idealized this man. This is mostly due to the way we focused heavily on his work in not only drama, but in English classes as well. Often students are praised if they can understand His poems and plays and in my high school we would compete every year in the Shakespeare festival. I was often told that his plays are so “universal” but now looking back on how much time we spent studying his plays, I realize that it would’ve done a lot more good to read plays from play-writes of different backgrounds. By idealizing this white man as the pinnacle of playwrites, it diminishes all female or BIPOC playwrites and consequently the readers and watchers who could better relate to more diverse narratives. Not only that, but many young students grow up feeling stupid because they can’t understand old English, something that takes scholars hours to research and fully understand. As Madeline puts It “ By believing there is innate virtue in his work, people overlook all the harm it is capable of doing“. and this article helped me see the harm in doing just that.
Sayet is correct that theatre, and even the larger, societal “we”, idolize Shakespeare in a way that upholds dangerous colonizer legacies, perpetuates white supremacy in art, and takes space and visibility away from BIPOC playwrights in theatre. And like others have commented, I too have fallen into the trap of over idealizing and emphasizing an importance in Shakespeare’s work, because I do love decoding his language and love seeing how theatres and programs stage Shakespeare in really accessible ways, but a focus on that does perpetuate white supremacist culture. To add to some of Sayet’s argument, I think that the continuation of Shakespearean literature being idolized is because of the stigma that it is regarded as highly academic, and therefore cannot be tampered with. I think that the heavily white and colonized content and gatekeeping of academia feed into that idolization, and the focus on Shakespeare feeds that inaccessible and discriminatory culture in higher education. While I think it is important that Shakespeare be presented in ways that make it feel more accessible to those who feel that it may not be or do not have the regular access to theatre, it is even more important that the voices, work, and stories of BIPOC theatre artists is elevated and made accessible in the same way, if not more so to emphasize the lack of visibility and respect they currently have in our industry.
I believe that Shakspeare has had a profound influence on not only theater but society as a whole. It is important to acknowledge this influence, however, that does not mean we should idolize him without recognition of both his faults and society faults. There are so many other playwrights from a diverse range of backgrounds, races, and cultures that are never focused on because of the heavy emphasis on white eurocentric playwrights especially Shakespeare. As a regular attendee of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, I find it interesting the different routes they take with reimagining Shakespeare especially with actors of color. However, I believe that original works by people of color are exceptionally important and those works should be highlighted first and foremost.
This is such a relevant and awakening article that has been written during an important time in history where people are learning to take accountability and be held responsible for systematic racism. It is a great reminder that we should continually question the systems that we are a part of and to not allow ourselves to repeat the mistakes we and our ancestor have made. The message that Shakespeare is the most important playwright to have ever lived is detrimental to a future of equality and anti-racist theater. The author of the article makes the point that Shakespeare’s plays take space away from those of diverse and culturally different backgrounds, which is such a clear truth that I can’t believe I had never realized before. We as society need to promote, place importance, and place in our common core plays that are written by artists who have been silenced for far too long. Taking accountability means taking another look at our society’s love for Shakespeare, and making way for people of color’s work to take the space on stages and in schools that they deserve.
This article mentions such an important thing for modern theatre makers to think about: why do we continually idolize the past instead of breathing in the present? Shakespeare is without question one of the most influential playwrights in history. There is such a premonition to take that fact and run with it, but so many theatre-makers just kEEP RUNNING with it. At some point we need to stop giving ages-old stories, which were not written for the modern social makeup of society, the time of day. There are so many plays being written now that have complex messages, characters, and stories. They are produced by a diverse group of writers, and can be performed by a diverse group of performers. If we “dismantle the hierarchy,” as the article says, of Shakespeare, we give BIPOC work space on the bookshelf. There is a systemic version of racism happening here, be it intentional or not, where the “old dead white guy” (as described by a high school teacher I once had) continues to take attention and action away from BIPOC stories and voices. We’ve gotta recognize that this is happen, and take steps to update our practices in the industry.
This article brings up a lot of points I have been thinking about and struggling with for a while now. Shakespear has always been lauded as the best playwright in history either overtly or just in every day culture. The fact that he is quite possibly the only playwright that many non theater makers would be able to name is proof enough of that fact, and I have always wondered why? Sure his plays are good. They have lots of universal themes that can be applied to a lot of different facets of life, but I find it hard to imagine any BIPOC folks finding his works personally relatable. Holding Shakespeare to this high of a level within our world is inherently eurocentric and white supremacy at its finest. I truly wish we had better records of other playwrights from the past who were not white, but unfortunately that is also a part of our white supremecist history that has to be dealt with today.
This article is absolutely correct. People need to stop idolizing Shakespeare simply for the fact that he is Shakespeare. I have been taught Shakespeare in English classes countless times who do not understand why his plays are powerful, or how they would have been received by audiences, or how they are received today – students are just taught that Shakespeare is good theatre, and that’s that. The actual beauty of Shakespeare is found when you let go of the idea that it is perfect, and instead delve into the words themselves, and present them in as many different ways as possible, by as many different people as possible, no longer just 50 white men. The fun in Shakespeare is pushing it to its limits. And you can’t possibly say that any one playwright is “the best.” Shakespeare is an old dead white guy. Teaching multiple of his plays in classes, to the exclusion of other, richer pieces written by women and playwrights of color, is ludicrous. Shakespeare, studied in its original form, is of course not universal, and cannot build an appreciation for theatre for the diverse landscape we live in today. The work is beautiful, but it is one example of work, and it has its problems.
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