h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Today’s movie is ‘The Tempest’ directed by Julie Taymor who also directed Anthony Hopkins in ‘Titus’ some years ago. This ‘Tempest’ is a feast for the eyes, filmed in Hawaii on black lava rocks, white coral, and red sandstone. It has an extremely good cast and Russell Brand, someone you will either love or hate. I have seen worse.

The big star is Helen Mirren as Prospero (Prospera). It is an interesting idea. Mirren is not a woman playing a male character but a female character. After about five minutes I stopped noticing that it was a she not a he. It didn’t seem to be to be at all important.

Prospero rules the island, its spirits, and Caliban by force of magic, not any physical attributes, so male/female doesn’t intrude. It does add a slight frisson to the back story, when Prospero explains how the Dukedom was lost because s/he left the day to day affairs to the brother whilst she/he continued their scientific studies. Prospero is banished for these studies, Prospera would but for her high birth, be burnt at the stake. Experts have conjectured that between 40 to 50,000 people were executed for witchcraft in Europe and America between 1480 and 1750. Most of them would have been women, and probably the majority of those would be older women living alone.

Interestingly, in order to fit the change of gender in Prospero, they amended the script, he became she, his became hers, and sir became madam. The one thing they didn’t feel they could change was ‘master’. They felt that there wasn’t a female equivalent which speaks volumes for the idea of gender stereotypes being upheld by language.

Mistress wouldn’t work as a substitution, as the old joke has it a mistress is something between a mister and a mattress.

Another attempt at having a female play a male role was in the Deborah Warner production of Richard III with Fiona Shaw playing the King. The difference was that Fiona played King Richard not ‘Queen Richarda’. This ought to have worked on a number of levels. Richard promoted as advisers people who were not part of the Aristo class that normally expected these positions. This was the same situation that Elizabeth I was in when she promoted the father and son, William and Robert Cecil.

The difference in outcome, Richard deposed, Elizabeth’s long reign, was down to the quality of the advisers. Having a female in the role drew attention to this parallel. It also highlighted the sexuality of Richard. Part of the discontent of the nobles was channelled into accusations that his new advisers were in position less for their statecraft and more because they were pretty. Funnily enough this didn’t seem to be working for me. Fiona is a great actress but I found myself always seeing her as female, a rather butch female, but female, and the relationships didn’t work.

In stark contrast Derek Jacobi played Richard II in the BBC complete series, most definitely a Richard but with a feminine softness.

This cross gender stuff is meat and drink to most people who know anything about 16th century theatre practice. Before the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, women did not appear on stage. In ‘Shakespeare in Love’ it is an integral part of the plot that women were banned from appearing on stage but I believe that this is not so. It was simply the social conventions of the period that women would not appear. In fact women did appear ‘on stage’ in plays, just not in public performance.

Strictly speaking these were not plays as we understand but Masques, often elaborate productions with singing, dancing, and acting by professional performers, accompanied by the ladies and gentlemen in non speaking roles. Extravagantly staged, they reached their height in the Stuart courts of James I and Charles I. Many were written by Ben Johnson with designs by Inigo Jones the architect who designed the Banqueting House in Whitehall. Even Anne, James I Queen would take part. Shakespeare copied some of these in a reduced fashion, there is a masque in ‘The Tempest’ when Prospero calls on various Goddesses to perform for Miranda and Ferdinand, well, teenagers can get up to mischief if they aren’t entertained.

But in truth, on public stages the female roles were played by boys. As I write Mark Rylance is wowing them in New York with his all male production of ‘Twelfth Night’. I didn’t manage to see it live at the Globe but that performance is available on DVD, which naturally I have seen. I am glad I did, because it allows me to tick another box. Shakespeare; tick. At the Globe; tick. All male cast just like in Will’s day; tick.

Personally I don’t think it works. The reason is that in Will’s day the females were all boys. The ‘females’ in Rylance’s play are all men. Rylance in fact puts in a rather strange performance. For starters, as the Countess Olivia, he is wearing a full length down to the floor skirt, and a very big skirt too. As he moves across the stage I was struck by the giggle inducing thought that he was probably riding a unicycle under the dress.

He is also too old. The best Olivia I have seen is Helena Bonham Carter who played her like a girl who has left sixth form a term early. Her emotions are extreme, one minute she is swearing she will abjure the sight of man for two years to mourn her brother and the next she is head over heels in love with the first young man she sees. Which sadly for her of course is Viola.

And that’s another reason I couldn’t warm to it. I have grown up with Viola’s played by Cheri Lunghi and Felicity Kendall. I go to ‘Twelfth Night’ specifically to fall in love all over again. One last thought though. When Michael Wood went ‘In Search of Shakespeare’ there were a few brief scenes shot in the Stratford Grammar School of the boys preparing for and presenting, a play just as mayhap Will and his fellows did. Obviously as a boys school the females were also boys. That worked as it must have on the Elizabethan stage.

Note to Mark Rylance. Edward de Vere did not write the works of Shakespeare and the female roles were played by boys not men.

Before anyone else notices, Fiona Shaw plays Richard II not the III. Touch of double tapping finger there.

Johnny Flynn was great casting as Lady Anne opposite Mark Rylance in Richard III at the Globe, and he's done a few women's parts in others too I believe.

Haven't seen that, but Johnny Flynn plays Viola in the Globe 'Twelfth Night' I watched.

pebblederook, I have only just found your NaJoPoMo page. I apologise and am running round now trying to point people in this direction.

Keep writing, I think it was Asteroid lil who was saying how highly she rated your contributions.

Lanzababy

Deb

Fascinating write up - I had heard of the all male Twelfth Night, but didn't get to see it, so I shall have to look out for the DVD (my friend and I saw Taming of the Shrew in The Globe, which was an excellent experience, but I do enjoy Twelfth Night - I liked the 1996 film)

I love your erudition on this subject.

[Amy P]