PLAYING SHAKESPEARE: REHEARSING THE TEXT {SHOW #07} (TV)
Summary
One in this miniseries of "master classes" hosted by John Barton and featuring members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, exploring the techniques and styles used by actors in performing the works of the Bard. In this installment, the actors focus on the rehearsal of one specific scene: Act 2, scene 4 of "Twelfth Night," in which Duke Orsino, played by Richard Pasco, and Viola, disguised as Cesario, played by Judi Dench, talk about love and listen to a song sung by the clown Curio, Norman Rodway. They run through the beginning of the scene, and Barton gives notes and advises them to consider the stresses on certain syllables, prompting Pasco to emphasize the "sweet pangs" of love about which Orsino speaks. They look for the appropriate places to pause, considering Shakespeare's use of line breaks and the way in which he wanted actors to "earn" pauses and hesitations to give certain lines more weight. Barton notes that sometimes the verbs are the "colored" words with the most significance, and points out the occasional use of couplets and what they mean. They debate the use of wry, self-mocking humor, also observing the arguable sexism in Orsino's words, highlighted by the fact that he is talking to Viola, who is secretly in love with him, without knowing that she is a woman.
The actors comment on the shifting emotions throughout the course of the scene, particularly in regards to Curio's song, which has two non-repetitive verses, the second of which seems to subtly mock Orsino. Rodway performs the song, and Barton points out that songs in Shakespeare's works can be a "trap" sometimes and can cause the play to become "becalmed," but can also be part of the action and create important reactions in the other characters. The actors continue with the scene, and Barton suggests that Curio's dialogue to Orsino is more "loaded" than Rodway allowed, contrasting his public persona of a clown with the "darker bit" underneath. The group observes how the "temper" of the scene shifts noticeably, particularly due to the song, which has a dramatic effect on the moment despite its festive nature. Dench wonders if Viola can see the absurdity of her situation, and Pasco speculates that Orsino suspects that something is "off" about the boy Cesario, which justifies his use of hesitations and inflections. They run through the entire scene and deliberately "overdo" it to highlight its shifts and emotional apices, and Barton concludes by reiterating the need to remember the verse and to consider that there are endless possibilities for how Shakespeare's works are to be performed, reminding the actors that his directional "clues" are hidden within the texts.
Details
- NETWORK: WNYC-TV (New York, NY) / Public TV (AAPB)
- DATE: September 9, 1984
- RUNNING TIME: 0:53:47
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:19483
- GENRE: Documentary
- SUBJECT HEADING: International Collection - United Kingdom; Documentary; Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616; Miniseries
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Playing Shakespeare" companion book
CREDITS
- Melvyn Bragg … Executive Producer
- Nick Evans … Executive Producer
- Andrew Snell … Producer
- John Barton … Writer, Host
- John Carlaw … Director
- Guy Woolfenden … Music by
- Judi Dench … Performer
- Richard Pasco … Performer
- Norman Rodway … Performer
- Michael Williams … Performer
- William Shakespeare