A few months ago, a notification popped up on my Facebook: “You have memories to look back on.” I enjoy the ‘on this day’ trip down memory lane as Facebook came out when I was in my late youth. This specific memory was ‘wishing I could go back in time and murder Shakespeare!’ I chortled as most of my directing experience has been with Shakespeare.
Many of us begin our relationship with Shakespeare in a classroom: we take turns reading and get to watch a movie version of the play (if we are lucky that one exists). For those of us wanting to pursue a career as an actor, we are told to master “The Bard,” for if you can perform Shakespeare, you can perform anything!
I agree with most of that statement though on certain days I would happily exchange Shakespeare for Ibsen. Both playwrights managed to write and create stories we are still attracted to today. Their female characters are some of the most desired roles to play from Lady Macbeth to Hedda Gabler to … the list of many other amazing roles goes on, but perhaps in another article.
One of the struggles is understanding the language as we no longer speak the way people spoke hundreds of years ago. Language is constantly evolving and I’ll admit I don’t understand the hip new Gen Z terms for things that I know as a Millennial. I dreaded reading and dissecting Shakespearean text because I simply didn’t get it and it sounded foolish to me in my younger years. Then I was given the chance to take over a summer Shakespeare camp and started with a play I knew well enough: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was in this process that my true love of Shakespeare was awakened. I now have the chance to direct this play again and each time I find new things in the text to play with.
We have so many adaptations of Shakespeare and there are so many ways we can share his stories. The recently released theatrical version of Macbeth by the Coen brothers starred the formidable Denzel Washington. Benedict Cumberbatch played the titular character in England’s National Theatre’s production of Hamlet. Seeing some of our favourite film stars take on Shakespeare takes away, in my opinion, some of the pretention around Shakespeare. When I used to hear his name, I pictured someone wearing tights with a skull speaking in a fake British accent. Those versions are certainly out there but there are other versions where gender roles are swapped as well as different eras and settings. Each of these are interpretations of the same stories and can all be compelling to watch. I can see the same Shakespeare play several times and it doesn’t get boring, because each time I learn something new and become excited about all the different ways I can share the story.
There is a thrill to share my vision of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with our community. I have dreamt of putting on an outdoor Shakespeare play for 12 years and now that dream has finally become a reality. It is an honour to work with such a talented cast and creative team, plus the incredible feature of this project is that everyone involved calls Prince George home.
Thankfully time machines have not been invented so I wasn’t given the chance to murder Shakespeare as we would have lost out on some great stories and I doubt I would have survived an Elizabethan prison. Not all of his plays are amazing and there are debates that question the true authorship, however many of his themes are prevalent today and stand the test of time. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is still relevant because it shows us various relationships and the different aspects of love with betrayal and anger balanced with humour and magic.
Come out and share in the dream with us on a midsummer night in June!
Melissa Glover is directing Theatre NorthWest’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Northern Lights Estate Winery amphitheatre. The show runs from Thursday, June 9 until Sunday, June 12. Tickets are available online or at Studio 2880.
