Contemporary Women on a Renaissance Stage

http://www.rsc.org.uk

http://www.rsc.org.uk

           

            Experiencing the birthplace of William Shakespeare and the Royal Shakespeare Academy, during our time in Stratford-Upon-Avon, was an opportunity I was blessed to come across. When we first arrived in Stratford, we settled in to our cozy bed and breakfast, and then ventured out to the Swan Theatre, which was just under a ten-minute walk away.

            I was first taken aback by the theatre space itself. With small arrangements and balconies stacked on top of each other, it appeared to be like an indoor version of the Globe Theatre. The bottom level had a very prominent thrust stage and walkways, making the seats fill every nook and cranny. We were informed that the Swan Theatre performs more than one production at a time, so the crew has to strike and rebuild the sets almost every day! I was very impressed by this information, for the sets were very different from each other.

Inside the RSC Swan Theatre.
www.mudkiss.com

            The first performance we saw in Stratford was The Jew of Malta, a play of religious hypocrisy and revenge. Reading plays and then seeing them come to life are two unique experiences. As I read The Jew of Malta, I didn’t see as much of Barabas’s villainous qualities as I did on stage. Barabas’s daughter Abigail, played by understudy Rhiannon Handy, was my favorite character of the show.

            Thinking back to the Renaissance days of theatre, and how men would play women in plays, made me wonder what it would have been like to see a man play Abigail. I think I would have found a lot of humor in the gender twist, because Barabas uses Abigail to seduce the duke’s son.

Did you really go to the RSC
if you didn't dress up?

            Rhiannon also played in Love’s Sacrifice as Bianca, the beautiful wife of the Duke of Pavy. I loved reading Love’s Sacrifice and was ecstatic to see the production, one of the first productions since the 17^th century! Bianca was one of the more changing characters. We first saw her as this modest, devoted wife to the duke, but once Fernando, her new love interest, entered her life, she began to grow more independent and almost heinous towards the end.

            I couldn’t imagine what the play would have been like if a male played Bianca. I thought Rhiannon brought forward true feelings for the two men that made her heart torn. I would love to see an all male cast of both of these productions to compare, but overall, I enjoyed watching  women perform in world that was once dominated by men.

Oh Matthew, you tease!