The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 18.0532 Thursday, 16 August 2007
[1] From: Matteo Pangallo <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 09:00:10 -0400
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
[2] From: Virginia Byrne <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 09:08:05 EDT
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
[3] From: Marilyn A. Bonomi <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 09:46:53 -0400
Subj: RE: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
[4] From: Larry Weiss <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 10:26:33 -0400
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
[5] From: Colin Cox <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 07:48:28 -0700
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
[6] From: Arthur Lindley <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 16:17:08 +0000
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
[7] From: Nicole Coonradt <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 20:20:53 +0000
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
[8] From: Alan Horn <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Thursday, 16 Aug 2007 07:50:55 -0400
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Matteo Pangallo <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 09:00:10 -0400
Subject: 18.0526 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
I'm not aware of the use of red wigs on *all* of the "menacing
characters" in Shakespeare, but English theatrical tradition dating back
at least to Shakespeare's age depicted stage Jews as redheads. Shylock,
thus, may have been performed with a red wig. The practice emerged from
the unsubstantiated legend that Judas was a redhead.
- Matteo Pangallo
[2]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Virginia Byrne <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 09:08:05 EDT
Subject: 18.0526 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
Sure....correct me if I am wrong (and I am sure you all will)...was not
Shylock traditionally costumed with a red wig?
[3]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Marilyn A. Bonomi <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 09:46:53 -0400
Subject: 18.0526 Redheads
Comment: RE: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
David Frankel asks about red wigs.
I cannot recall my source but Jews were often portrayed in red wigs
(Shylock, Jew of Malta) in Elizabethan theatre. I *believe* it was a
holdover from some of the Medieval morality plays. Now I need to go dig
out my notes from my MA-English courses.
Mari Bonomi
[4]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Larry Weiss <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 10:26:33 -0400
Subject: 18.0526 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
I have read that it was traditional for the actor playing Shylock to
wear a red wig, which I assumed was part of the ethnic makeup, but this
is the first I have heard that other "menacing characters" were played
in red wigs. Which characters in particular, and what support is there
for this notion?
[5]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Colin Cox <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 07:48:28 -0700
Subject: 18.0526 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
David Frankel writes, "one possible source for the discrimination
against those with red hair, ". . . could date back to Shakespeare, who
used red wigs on his most menacing characters."
Shylock, as portrayed by Richard Burbage, and Marlowe's Barabbas, as
portrayed by Edward Alleyn, were presented as the 'villain' in red wigs
as it was presumed that Judas Iscariot had been a 'red head'.
Colin Cox
[6]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Arthur Lindley <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 16:17:08 +0000
Subject: 18.0526 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
Not coincidentally, the red wig was also used to identify a Jew, notably
Barabas in *The Jew of Malta*. I don't have the book to hand, but James
Shapiro's *Shakespeare and the Jews* would be a good place to start
looking for further information.
Arthur Lindley
[7]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Nicole Coonradt <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Wednesday, 15 Aug 2007 20:20:53 +0000
Subject: 18.0526 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
RE: David Frankel's post on "Gingers"-- not sure about blaming the Bard
for the discrimination, but below are three links to the amazing
Catherine Tate's take on the problem in the UK. (There may be more
skits on this topic to view at YouTube should you want more.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUIRFh4pJ78 (FYI: This is mislabeled
"Rustic" Lodge; it ought to be "Russet" Lodge.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6GgDyqBxtk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=090BYduNSMw&mode=related&search=
And off-topic re "Gingers," but very SHAKSPER, try this one as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=541tEBFK0v4
For those of you unfamiliar with Tate's comedic genius, catch more of
her work at YouTube. There's even a Lauren Cooper skit with Tony Blair.
Enjoy!
Nicole Coonradt
[Editor's Note: Speaking of YouTube, but not of "Reds," yesterday I came
across a five and a half minute YouTube promo for the American
Shakespeare Center's Touring Company. Of interest is that the video
contains shots of the Blackfriars marbled scaenae frons "before" and
"after" it was painted two years ago
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tf66DPp4g4>. All of which further
reminds me that the 4th Bi-annual Blackfriars Conference is forthcoming
in October. How's that for examples of non-linear association? -Hardy]
[8]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Alan Horn <
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Date: Thursday, 16 Aug 2007 07:50:55 -0400
Subject: 18.0526 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0526 Redheads
Judas was supposed to have had red hair, a tradition that is alluded to
in As You Like It (III, v). Actors playing him in the miracle and
mystery plays wore red wigs and beards. By extension, these accessories
were thought suitable for early modern stage-Jews, including-as far as
anyone knows-Shylock.
Jay L. Halio's introduction to the Oxford Shakespeare's Merchant of
Venice gives some references.
Alan Horn
_______________________________________________________________
S H A K S P E R: The Global Shakespeare Discussion List
Hardy M. Cook,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The S H A K S P E R Web Site <http://www.shaksper.net>
DISCLAIMER: Although SHAKSPER is a moderated discussion list, the
opinions expressed on it are the sole property of the poster, and the
editor assumes no responsibility for them.
|
