The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 18.0827 Tuesday, 11 December 2007
[1] From: Paul E. Doniger <
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Date: Saturday, 8 Dec 2007 18:08:43 -0800 (PST)
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0817 Shakespeare as Falstaff
[2] From: Steve Sohmer <
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Date: Saturday, 8 Dec 2007 23:58:35 EST
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0817 Shakespeare as Falstaff
[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Paul E. Doniger <
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Date: Saturday, 8 Dec 2007 18:08:43 -0800 (PST)
Subject: 18.0817 Shakespeare as Falstaff
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0817 Shakespeare as Falstaff
John Briggs wrote: "A rather more cogent question would be to ask who
played what in 'Twelfth Night' (1601/2)? I would say that whoever played
Falstaff played Sir Toby - would anyone argue? But which role did
Richard Burbage take? The other leading male roles are Malvolio and the
Duke (probably in that order). (The play is remarkable for having three
strong female roles.)"
I think the Sir Toby/Falstaff issue is quite probably correct, but who
was it? I believe tradition (well, Baldwin, at any rate), says that
Burbage played Orsino. For some reason, Orsino was usually considered
the male "lead," even though it is a rather small part (line-wise). The
largest male role in terms of lines is Toby. The other large ones are
Malvolio and Feste (who has more lines than Malvolio). In modern times,
it seems that the leading actors have tended to want to play Malvolio.
It would be interesting to discover why the interest has shifted from
Orsino to Malvolio. Of course, the real central figure (if there is only
one central figure in "12th Night") is Viola.
Paul E. Doniger
[2]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Steve Sohmer <
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Date: Saturday, 8 Dec 2007 23:58:35 EST
Subject: 18.0817 Shakespeare as Falstaff
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0817 Shakespeare as Falstaff
Dear Friends,
I think it's pretty clear from the inside jokes that Shakespeare played
Julius Caesar and Polonius. If I can ever get around to drawing a long
breath and writing at length about HAM, I'm going to suggest that
Shakespeare played both Polonius (Ophelia's dad) and Old Hamlet
(Hamlet's dad).
In general, my hunch is that Shakespeare took on those characters who
have a literary (or narrative) bent. And that from 1600 forward he
played a lot of dads. We like to think Shakespeare played Prospero and
delivered his grand farewell. I wouldn't be surprised if he played
Chorus and delivered the "this is not the man" epilogue in 2H4. I like
to think he discharged the same duties in R&J and H5. It would have
seemed to audiences "just right" if writer-Shakespeare (who wrote the
play) engaged actor-Shakespeare to narrate it.
Those of us who have worked in the entertainment business know that a
performer's personal life can inform his/her roles for better or worse;
audiences tend to migrate what they know about a performer's personal
life into the characters he/she portrays. I remember working very hard
on the promotion to launch NBC's television series of "Casablanca"
starring David Soul. A few weeks before the series premiere, the
tabloids were filled with stories about Soul abusing his wife. True or
not, it was clear that female viewers wouldn't accept him as Rick, the
gallant protector of Ilsa Lund, and the show was a flop. I once had the
unenviable duty of explaining to Jane Fonda that her playing a 40
year-old virgin in "The Old Gringo" would overstretch an audience's
capacity for the willing suspension of disbelief.
By the time Shakespeare's company moved into the new Globe in 1599, his
fame as a theatrical storyteller was well-established. And, given that
the population of London was all of 200,000, he must have been a very
familiar face around town. That's why the inside jokes in JC must have
worked so well.
If anyone believes this thesis might hold even a little water, they
might like to speculate as to whether Shakespeare played other dads as
well as characters with a literary (or narrative) bent, e.g. choruses,
pedants, Jacques, etc. For myself, I think he would have found
irresistible the part of Cinna, the poet murdered for his bad verses.
Hope this helps.
Steve
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