Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Synetic Shakespeare

Imagine Shakespeare without the words.


That looks like one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.  And it also gets to the theme of universality in Shakespeare's works.  Someone who is familiar with The Tempest will recognize everything that happens in the clip - oh there's Stefano and Trinculo! Oh, Caliban looks cool.  Yup, there's the scene where Prospero casts a spell on Ferdinand...  But what if you haven't read that one?  Then it's all on the physical acting ability of the cast to convince you of the story.  Even if you "get" the story, are you any closer to Shakespeare?   Or is it now a completely new work of art?


2 comments:

amd5gg said...

I saw this production...the trailer is much cooler than the production was, though i have seen some amazing wordless adaptations from this theatre! just didn't really enjoy their take on the tempest.

Scarlett said...

I agree--the thing about Synetic is, their Tempest was terrific--and it was one of their less-successful renditions. Their Macbeth was shocking. Wonderful stuff.