The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 14.2071  Monday, 27 October 2003

From:           David Linton <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Wednesday, 22 Oct 2003 12:34:54 -0400
Subject:        Two Noble Kinsmen in New York

I saw the production a few days before the official opening and thought
it was very moving and beautifully staged.  I disagree with the Times
reviewer's reservations about several of the actors.  I've never seen
the play before and was fascinated by how powerfully the homoeroticism
was expressed.  I don't know the research on this one; is that element
given much attention in scholarship?  Also, the Times reviewer was put
off by the several cross-gender casting decisions (two of the widowed
queens were played by men and the doctor who appears toward the end of
the play was played by a woman in a bushy beard).  The Public Theater
pioneered "race-blind" casting which has now become common and was, in
fact, present in this production and unremarked upon in the review.
What are the views and experiences of members of the list regarding
gender-blind casting decisions?

David Linton

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