nce up Tchaikovsky and Twelfth Night: The Classics Today It is well known that a creative individual never thrives in a vacuum. They are starved of intellectual curiosity, creative flair, influences, whether they be good or bad. Any artist, writer, composer or dancer brings change to their domain, but at the same time can never fail to be a reflection of their environment. The endless interpretations of ancient stories, poetry, music and art brings new life to the original, but still retains the same elements. The most influential classic stories that have been endlessly reinvented include the works of Shakespeare and the Classical ballets. William Shakespeare is no doubt the most highly acclaimed and influential playwright of all time. His works are considered, frankly, biblical in the circles of English teachers, dramatists, actors and playwrights. Shakespeare’s plays still influence the arts today and the adaptations of his plays are always changing, yet still retain the human emotion and dramatic electricity that was evident when Queen Elizabeth I sat on the English throne. In 2015 we saw Michael Fassbender star as Macbeth in a new adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy, “Macbeth”, directed by Justin Kurzel. Kurzel controversially edited the original text by removing Hecate’s speech and changing Macbeth’s visions into post-traumatic stress hallucinations. In 2012 “Twelfth Night” at The Globe, directed by Tim Carroll and starring Mark Rylance as Olivia and Stephen Fry as Malvolio brought the gender debate onstage. At the beginning of the production the audience witnessed the actors preparing themselves for their performance. They watched as the all male cast carefully put on their makeup and costume, emphasising Shakespeare’s intentions of showing the audience the comedic element of Viola, Olivia and Orsino’s love triangle. Yet despite the male dominance of the play the power of the female character was shown through the portrayal of Olivia and Maria. Alex Needham wrote in The Guardian “In other productions I’ve seen, a young, often beautiful woman plays Olivia. Played by Rylance, she could easily seem grotesque, but in a performance of incredible finesse and intelligence, he creates a character that exerts her power through wit and intelligence, not looks.” Clearly, Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted and influenced numerous times, certainly too many to document, and have changed over the centuries becoming more modernised, feminist and abstract - indeed The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company was founded in 2009 by Alaka. The numerous adaptations show significant change, but there can be no doubt that the fundamental elements of the power of Shakespeare’s language and storytelling cannot be altered.
28 AQUILA 2016-17
