The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 14.1858  Thursday, 25 September 2003

From:           Graham Hall <
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Date:           Wednesday, 24 Sep 2003 20:15:02 +0000
Subject:        The director's cut

Wasn't there a fencing instructor to Sophie known to Sir Toby?

There was an (? actor's union) rule I vaguely recall - possibly someone
can expand - which determined that when a production had a sword fight
there had to be a rehearsal conducted within half an hour prior to
curtain up for purposes of safety. I don't think this was anything to do
with ladies being allowed to handle rapiers however. It possibly had
more to do with actors in general being a bit aggressive when it came to
swords. After all, as one apocryphal story goes, we might not have had
Shakespeare if it hadn't been for a bit of sword fighting within the
thespian fraternity down a country lane.

Best,
Graham Hall

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