Saturday, December 6, 2008

12th night.

I hate watching people watch Shakespeare... I don't esteem myself some sort of pro on the subject. .. but i feel like most of the wit is lost on a high percentage of the audience. I'm sitting through intermission right now, listening to the couple in front of me make sense of what they have seen so far. The girlfriend knows the story pretty well... the boyfriend is apparently totally lost "what was that letter that the guy found?" and "is she supposed to be a guy?" she did a good job of explaining who was attracted to who as who... but I think he's checked out.

Should I feel awkward that I, and a couple of others are the only ones laughing at the majority of the wit and puns in this play?

I wonder to what extent the exaggeration of stage acting has been affected by the illiteracy of audiences these days... it seems like lots of these lines require hand gestures in order to convey their meaning... otherwise people just sit, eyes glazed until the characters do something nodding to slapstick... fie on't.

1 comment:

sage femme said...

fie on't indeed! You should have seen TNT's (Dillon's troupe) production of 12th Night last year. Twas awesome. They are doing Much Ado this year. Might you come down for it in June?? (I'll help if I can!)