Divisions and Precisions

Wherein Geekiness of Great Magnitude is Revealed

I am in total awe. Last night was the first night of the cycle of Shakespearean histories I'm going to see this week, put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The RSC. In Ann Arbor. Y'all, that blows my mind. The last time the RSC even came to Michigan, according to the program, was 1913. I didn't realize the magnitude of what they're doing until last night. The four plays (which they're presenting a total of three times each) are the second set of plays in a series called This England: The Histories. Starting last fall, the RSC produced the first set, Richard II, Henry IV, Parts One and Two, and Henry V. The second set consists of Henry VI, Part 1 (which I saw last night, not IV, which I goofed in the blog), Henry VI, Part 2 (the matinee today), Henry VI, Part 3 (tonight's play), and Richard III (tomorrow night). The coolest thing about it is that all eight plays are cast from the same company, so, for example, the actor playing Prince Hal in Henry IV went on to play Henry V. It's brilliant, really.

I should give some background information. First, I have been a Shakespeare freak from an early age. And I mean early. I first tried to read Hamlet when I was nine years old. I did a book report on Othello when I was twelve. In high school drama classes, if I had a choice of scenes to pick from, I'd pick something Shakespearean -- assuming my partner didn't object overstrenuously. Also, in those burning high school days, when I dreamed of being an Actress (note the seriousness of the capital letter there), the Royal Shakespeare Company was my highest ambition. What could be better than to spend my days and nights acting out the parts of Lady Macbeth, the Nurse from Romeo and Juliet, Beatrice? Further, one of my greatest heroes in middle school was Joan of Arc. I'd found her biography in the library and was fascinated by her.

However, although I adored Shakespearean comedy and tragedy, I avoided the histories. It slipped my attention that Shakespeare had immortalized Joan of Arc in a play! Why did no one tell me this? Henry VI, Part 1 is largely about the end of the Hundred Years' War, and Joan plays a sizable role in it. I didn't find that out until I got to the theatre and saw my program. The interesting thing, of course, is that this was a very English production of a very English play, so the French were presented as foppish buffoons, and Joan, who starts out as the Maid of Orleans, ends up the Whore of Babylon. That's probably what I found the most fascinating. When she first appears, her costume is the expected white linen tunic. She wears it for the remainder of the play -- except that has the war goes on, it slowly becomes more stained and worn about the hem. Likewise, by the end of the play, the girl who swore to the Dauphin that she was sent by the Virgin Mary apparently sleeps with the entire French court, bewitches one man, at least, to leave king and country to join the French, and ends up offering her soul to demons if they will rescue her from the English.

The humor verged on shocking and disturbing at times. After a French victory (Rouen, I think? It was after Orleans), one of the English Dukes (Bedford) enters the stage, obviously badly wounded. While the English debate what to do next, the French taunt them from the battlements (my brain insists on adding "Go away, or I shall taunt you a second time-a!" I swear, Monty Python got their inspiration from this scene). Joan, in fact, taunts the Duke of Bedford -- who, we realize, has lost an arm -- by waving his own arm at him. It was a funny bit, but disturbing as hell. By the time she burns at the stake, even I was ready to see her go.

It's worth mentioning, all of the above was just one of the many subplots. This was honestly one of the most complicated, convoluted plays I've ever seen. It also traced the beginnings of the War of the Roses (the civil war between the Houses of York and Lancaster) and numerous political rivalries. I know there's a lot of stuff I missed, and I have a feeling I'm going to end up reading the play in the near future.

The production itself was utterly amazing. I've seen Shakespeare performed many times, and have been in a few performances myself, but this... this blew absolutely everything so far out of the water it's not even funny. True to Shakespearean convention, the stage is amazingly bare, with trapdoors and ladders and balconies all over the place, as well as ramps and stairs leading off into the audience. The only real set is a large set of metal double doors upstage, with a balcony above them, serving as various city gates and battlements. The costumes were an interesting mix of Elizabethan-tinged modern. Henry VI is in full Elizabethan kingly regalia, while Talbot and his soldiers are reminiscent of World War I. There were so many subtle things going on, I don't have the words to describe how amazing it was.

The actress who played Joan la Pucelle, Fiona Bell, was utterly astounding. She carries off the show right from under the nose of all the other more "major" characters. Interestingly enough, not five minutes after Joan's death, Ms. Bell reappears onstage as Margaret of Anjou, who marries Henry VI between Part 1 and Part 2 and becomes Queen of England. Remembering what a pain in the ass Margaret ended up being to the kings that succeeded Henry VI, and as there were definitely several other actresses available in the company to play the role, I doubt that casting decision was an accident. I love that sort of thing. The thing about Shakespeare is that there's so little in the way of stage direction and setting description, that the words and plot themselves almost end up as a blank canvas for the director to fill in as he or she sees fit. While that has led to some atrocious productions (Much Ado About Nothing as a '50s sitcom), it's also led to some seriously inspired work. It makes me want to try and direct again, or at least to act again. Alas.

Furthermore, I am never going to the theatre with a friend ever again. You may remember when I saw Rent last November that I bought a ticket by myself and managed to get the most amazing seat. I just heard about the RSC performing in Ann Arbor about a week ago. I finally got off my butt and called Monday to see about tickets. Because I only needed one ticket, there was one left -- in the front row. I could reach out and practically touch the stage. During curtain call, the actor playing King Henry caught my eye and smiled at me as he was walking offstage. How cool is that? I'm as far right as I can get, but the way the plays are staged, it's practically theatre in the round. I mean, there are people sitting on stage for crying out loud. My seatmates and I were joking about getting hit by spit and stage blood, of which there was plenty last night.

All in all, it was an amazing experience. I've always had a sort of interest in that period of English history, now it's been revived all over again. I'm looking forward to the rest of the performances. If you have read this far, you are either a theatre geek, a history geek, or a literature geek (or any combination thereof), or you're my mother. ;-) Posted by Lisa at March 14, 2001 09:22 AM