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Should a playwright have the final say over a production? Should a playwright have the final say over a production?
(2 months later)
Last week I went to a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at London's St James theatre. It was by no means great, but it was high-spirited fun with a contemporary setting. Staged at lunchtime, the performance was only around 50 minutes long; it probably included about a third of Shakespeare's script.Last week I went to a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at London's St James theatre. It was by no means great, but it was high-spirited fun with a contemporary setting. Staged at lunchtime, the performance was only around 50 minutes long; it probably included about a third of Shakespeare's script.
Shortened versions of classic plays – some excluding entire scenes and characters – are often the norm rather than the exception on our stages, particularly with Shakespeare. There are Hamlets without Fortinbras; Macbeths in which the Porter has gone missing; Romeos and Juliets with no apothecary bemoaning his poverty. Lines of text are frequently excised to aid clarity and flow – and cut running times.Shortened versions of classic plays – some excluding entire scenes and characters – are often the norm rather than the exception on our stages, particularly with Shakespeare. There are Hamlets without Fortinbras; Macbeths in which the Porter has gone missing; Romeos and Juliets with no apothecary bemoaning his poverty. Lines of text are frequently excised to aid clarity and flow – and cut running times.
Does this lead to outrage that authorial intent has been trashed? Of course not. No one is messing with the plays in the manner of Nahum Tate, whose 1681 version of King Lear dominated the British stage for more than 150 years. Tate's version omitted the Fool, and saw Lear restored to the throne in time to see Cordelia marry Edgar and live happily ever after. In any case, with some Shakespeare plays we are still disputing the text as much as the authorship – and, of course, the playwright is not on hand to make any kind of complaint.Does this lead to outrage that authorial intent has been trashed? Of course not. No one is messing with the plays in the manner of Nahum Tate, whose 1681 version of King Lear dominated the British stage for more than 150 years. Tate's version omitted the Fool, and saw Lear restored to the throne in time to see Cordelia marry Edgar and live happily ever after. In any case, with some Shakespeare plays we are still disputing the text as much as the authorship – and, of course, the playwright is not on hand to make any kind of complaint.
Unlike the Australian playwright Lachlan Philpott. On the opening night of Philpott's new play, Alienation, which is based on interviews with people who believe they have been abducted by aliens, the writer removed his name from the production and put a note on every seat in the auditorium that declared: "this production does not reflect my original scripted or communicated intentions as the playwright." On Friday, Perth Theatre Company issued its own statement in response, saying that it "strongly disagrees and is disappointed with these statements and considers them to be inaccurate and unwarranted." Ouch.Unlike the Australian playwright Lachlan Philpott. On the opening night of Philpott's new play, Alienation, which is based on interviews with people who believe they have been abducted by aliens, the writer removed his name from the production and put a note on every seat in the auditorium that declared: "this production does not reflect my original scripted or communicated intentions as the playwright." On Friday, Perth Theatre Company issued its own statement in response, saying that it "strongly disagrees and is disappointed with these statements and considers them to be inaccurate and unwarranted." Ouch.
The details of the creative differences that led to the Perth situation are scant, but it raises interesting issues about how much theatre is a collaborative enterprise, and whether the writer should have supremacy. Does a text simply suggest, not determine, a performance, as the Polish theorist Grotowski and others have argued, or is it sacrosanct? Why does it seem perfectly acceptable to change Shakespeare, but not mess with Chekhov or cut lines from Philpott?The details of the creative differences that led to the Perth situation are scant, but it raises interesting issues about how much theatre is a collaborative enterprise, and whether the writer should have supremacy. Does a text simply suggest, not determine, a performance, as the Polish theorist Grotowski and others have argued, or is it sacrosanct? Why does it seem perfectly acceptable to change Shakespeare, but not mess with Chekhov or cut lines from Philpott?
Ultimately, when a company and director work with a living writer, as in that Australian case, it must clearly come down to respect, trust and understanding that the creativity of everyone in the process influences the outcome. When that understanding and respect breaks down, you'll likely end up with the hurt feelings and mutual misunderstandings currently on show in Perth. But when they are all present, you are more likely to produce thrilling shows such as last year's Three Kingdoms – a collaboration between writer Simon Stephens, director Sebastian Nübling and designer Ene-Liis Semper – in which writing, design, direction, acting, sound and light are all elements in one glorious whole.Ultimately, when a company and director work with a living writer, as in that Australian case, it must clearly come down to respect, trust and understanding that the creativity of everyone in the process influences the outcome. When that understanding and respect breaks down, you'll likely end up with the hurt feelings and mutual misunderstandings currently on show in Perth. But when they are all present, you are more likely to produce thrilling shows such as last year's Three Kingdoms – a collaboration between writer Simon Stephens, director Sebastian Nübling and designer Ene-Liis Semper – in which writing, design, direction, acting, sound and light are all elements in one glorious whole.
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