It was three years ago when attending an English class I told I was going to the theatre to see Othello. Then a college challenged me to deliver a presentation telling them my impressions about the play. The teacher supported his suggestion, and it was the start of a series of plays by Shakespeare I have enjoyed.
One and a half year later the same company came to Seville, this time the play was The Merchant of Venice. Of course I took the chance to go to the theatre again and, as you can imagine, I presented my views to my classmates as well.
Last week Hamlet was performed by another company, a local one, and there I was, with some friends curious to see this adaptation of the universal classic by Shakespeare.
The tree plays are considered classic plays because the feelings, situations and behaviour of the characters are timeless.? ?However, my personal experience was different in each occasion.
The staging of the three plays was good for me, and the costumes designed by Caprille in Othello and in the Merchant of Venice were brilliant. In Hamlet there wasn?t a famous costume designer, nevertheless the costumes were changing throughout the play. I guess that they wanted to represent the timeless of the feelings and situations.
When I go to the theatre I hope to enjoy moving moments, it happens when actors and actress succeed in moving the audience. It is not easy, particularly with dramatic plays. In the case of the plays I am speaking about, there were different situations. Actors and actress in Othello looked as if they were simply reading from the script, instead it wasn?t the case in The Merchant of Venice, neither in Hamlet.
As I pointed out above, I enjoy theatre and probably I am not very critical compared to friends or family that come with me. Lope De Vega in Seville and Teatro Romano de M?rida are the theatres I often go, similarly in Brest I didn?t lose the chance to attend the theatre, it was a play performed in English. During my visit to Belarus I could enjoy other performing arts as ballet, Swan Lake in Minsk made me feel like Julia Robert in Pretty Woman.
Another question related with theatre that came up to my mind is the characteristics of the audience. At a simple glance you can see that the majority of the audience are women, and what is more, the average age is high. Do you think that the prices of tickets are too high? Or perhaps, do younger people prefer another leisure activities?.
Finally, I would like to point out that there are also plays performed by amateur actor and actress which are well worth watching.
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Gloria! I envy you a lot. Firstly, the way you manage to write about interesting topics each week, I think it is not easy at all. Secondly, I’ve been quite surprised when I’ve read that you have enjoyed Swan Lake in Belarous. I have studied dance for many years and I’ve always dreamt about attending a dance like Swan Lake in a traditional ballet theatre such as the ones in Belarus, Russia, etc. In Spain, there are some opportunities to do it but, from my point of view it is not the same. In Moscow, for example, you can see more than 60 swams on the stage, which differs a lot from seeing 15. These are art works based on generating a great atmosphere and the scale is important. I love dance and I usually find many people who doesn’t have any interest in it. I’m glad you felt moved by this piece.
Maria, as it is written in my blog: “if you have a dream….” then, next time I visit Belarus, you can come with me, and we can enjoy going to theatre. Would you like to go with me? And of course, it is difficult to find a new topic every week, the secret: I am not afraid people is going to judge, I only focus on enjoying myself. Thanks for your comments.
I’ve read your post about your fondness for Shakespeare’s theatre and all I can say is congratulations for having chosen one of the purest ways of travelling to another dimension. The dimension of double meanings, that of timeless human features that are valid at any moment in history.
Shakespeare is also a timeless author who has been able to achieve what very few have: his characters have become symbols of human traits. Othello is the symbol of jealousy, Hamlet is the symbol of doubt, Shylock is the symbol of greed, among many others.
As I have mentioned many times, for me A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the delicious many-sided play that marked a rather sensitive period of my life, though it may sound cheeesy. This play has no imagination limits and can take the shape that the director may choose. This is Shakespeare’s greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them (Twelfth Night).
A pleasure to read you.
Dear teacher, first of all thank you very much for your comment and for posting in this blog. When a teacher speaks with passion about something, I am sure that the students take it in account. It is may case, I learnt from you, hence as I am curious,I didn?t doubt when the opportunity to go to theatre came.
If only next performance would be Midsummer Night?s Dream. Otherwise I would try to read the book, in English, of course.