danieldwilliam (
danieldwilliam) wrote2015-11-16 05:43 pm
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On Gender Roles and Roles in Shakespear Plays
My drama group are putting on A Midsummer Night's Dream as one of our productions during the Edinburgh Festival next summer. There appears to be a rumour that either the director or some of the group would like to have an all female cast for the mechanicals, Bottom and co. And this set me thinking about changing the gender of characters in Shakespear plays and which of his plays might have some added interest if the gender of one or more significant characters were changed, which would not particularly be affected and in which plays would a gender change jar in a way that, in my view, made the play less rich.
What do I mean by less rich?
You know, I'm not sure I'm entirely sure myself. Perhaps a few examples might illuminate what I mean. Let's take Henry V as an example.
You could swap the genders of Harry's old mates and have Pistol, Nym and Bardolph as women. And I think that would not say particuarly much because I'm not sure that the script greatly supports Pistol, Nym and Bardolph being anything other than "blokes". In the 21st Century there plenty of blokey women and I'm not sure that re-gendering a 16th century play about a 15th century war is the best way to explore the experiences of blokey women or women who engage in armed conflict in the 21st Century. I'm totally not saying you ought not to cast Pistol, Num and Bardolph as women, just that I don't think the actors and directors will find much, in addition to the existing script, of great interest to bring out.
You could swap the gender of Harry and Kate, and have a queen regnant Henrietta courting a reluctant but intrigued Prince Kay. For me I think this would make the play less rich. I don't think there is anything in the script or the relationship that works better or is more interesting if you swap the genders. Henry V and Catherine of Valois were both actual people, grounded in the politics, especially the gender politics, of their age and I don't think there is anything in the script that changes the nature of the relationship between the two of them from warrior-king seeks dynastically convenient mother of his children. It's not a play particuarly about marriage where changing the genders of the characters might throw some light and shade on our own, 21st Century views on marriage and how different, and how similar they are to those in the 15th and 16th centuries.
And you could swap the gender of Kate and leave Harry as a man and here I think you run in to some difficulties - as to make a relationship between a same sex couple work you have to divorce the play so far from its historical routes that you might as well admit you are courting controversy.
Which is not to say that you ought not to court controversy, or that you shouldn't do it with a Shakespear play - just that I'm not sure that, on balance, crowbarring a same sex couple in to Henry V makes the play any better.
On the other hand, swapping the gender roles of many of the characters in Much Ado About Nothing would, for me, say something about gender roles in the 16th and 21st Centuries.
So what I think I mean by less rich is that the changing of genders takes away and confuses more than it adds, in particular by creating a justaposition that the script, necessarily, handles badly - so you might as well just be honest and admit you've changed the genders of Shakespear characters badly because you couldn't afford a re-write to make the changed genders useful or interesting or of good dramatic quality.
So here goes - a quick provisional run down of the Shakespear Cannon - or at least those plays I'm familiar enough with to comment
The Tempest
I think neutral. You could happily swap genders of the main characters. I don't think the play explores or turns on gender roles particularly.
The Merry Wives of Windsor
A play that turns on sexual relationships and which might be made more interesting by switching gender roles to see what that throws up about how we experience those roles today. A lascivious gold-digging female Falstaf and the responses of Mrs Ford and Page to the threatened chastity of their husbands would be rather fun.
A Comedy of Errors
Given that this is a farce about mistaken identies and their role in sexual relations some gender swapping can only add to the fun - if not the profoundity - of the play.
Much Ado About Nothing
I think, of all the Shakespear plays I know this is one I'd most enjoy seeing with significant gender switching. In particular, I'd swap the genders of Hero, Beatrice, Benedict and Claudio and see how our own 21st Century liberals' esposed values of women's sexual liberty and the freedom of grown children from their parents' command really survive contact with seeing how 16th Century rules applied to men makes us feel.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Another neutral play I think. There are elements of gender roles in the Athenians' marriage negotiations but I'm not sure they are a significant enough part of the play to be much affected by the genders of the characters (in contrast to Much Ado, which in my view is all about the marriage negotiations.) The marriage negotiations are buried in the farcical and magical elements of the humans enounters with the Fairies. So, switch the genders as pleasest thou.
The Merchant of Venice.
I'm not hugely familiar with this play. I don't think it's made particular more interesting by a gender switched production (compared to swapping the religion and ethnicity of the characters.)
As You Like It.
Any gender switching is only going to add to the Bard's work here. I'm not sure adding additional or different gender switches adds much
The Taming of the Shrew.
An obvious choice for some changed gender roles. Might be most interesting with both Petrucio and Katerina as men.
Twelth Night
Like As You Like It.
Winter's Tale
A play that directly involves gender roles and in particular the requirements of chastity within and without marriage. I think switching genders is either going to be neutral (for roles like Camilio and Dion) or both pointless and difficult for Hermione and the two kings.
Pericles, Prince of Tyre (a favourite play of mine, if only for the fantastic staging I saw and smelt at the RSC when I was a young and impressionable man)
I think a neutral play, you could cast Pericles as a woman and switch genders as you saw fit from there but I'm not sure it would add or detract much.
I think all of the Histories probably are neutral for some characters (AN Lord could be AN Lady but given they are largely plays about dynastic and internenice wars and succcessions difficult to get round the Queens being Queens and the Kings, Kings.
Troillus and Cresida.
Not sure about this one - it might be interesting with some of the roles gender switched, or maybe not.
Titus Andronicus
I think neutral largely - but given the subject matter some of the characters might make for a really interesting gender swap, or that gender swap might not work at all.
Romeo and Julliet
Bizarrely, I don't think I'm familar enough with perhaps the most famous Shakespear play to comment.
Julius Caesar
Neutral I think - I've been in a great production with Cassius as a woman - and it slightly changes the dynamic of the Brutus / Cassius / Caesar relationship but JC is essentially a play about power politics and a world in which Margaret Thatcher is already dead and Hilary Clinton is perhaps twelve months from being elected Presdent of the USA is probably not going to gain much from watching 16th Century political speeches delivered by a woman instead of a man.
Macbeth.
I'd love to see a female Macbeth and a male Lady Macbeth - that might make for an interesting commentary on 21st Century gender relationships.
Hamlet.
Neutral I think. The story of an overly intelligent philospher trying to decide if they have the gumption to launch a coup, nowadays, can probably work with a female Hamlet as well as it does with a male one. I don't think the Ophelia - Hamlet relationship is integral enough (nor is the play historical enough) to the plot to make a male Ophelia or a lesbian Hamlet clunky. Crack on. My only sadness is that female Hamlets make it even more unlikely that I will ever play Hamlet, but then my own lack of talent already rather precludes me from that. Hey, ho.
Othello
Another play that might work really, really well with the genders of the main characters switched round. A story of domestic violence, jealosy and murder with a female Othello? That's an interesting take on a classic.
Anthony and Cleo.
Might work with some of the genders switched. I mean, beyond the ability to make Agrippa a woman. But I'm not sure that making Cleo a chap says much. Cleo was such an atypical person anyway.
So, a few plays I think would be interesting with some key character gender switches. A few I think would be made poorer for it and many largely neutral.