Marion Potts on Shakespeare
Associate director of Bell Shakespeare Company, Marion Potts, made an informal presentation to the media this week (February 6) at the company’s season launch. In essence, she answered the question: Why Shakespeare?
"In a six year block between 1600 and 1606, Shakespeare sat down and wrote 11 plays. In this brilliant sweep, were his most acclaimed works: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. Four tragedies, four plays that engage with serious universal experiences.
"People have long pondered the reasons behind this extraordinary achievement. Some put it down to a kind of fin de siècle malaise: the turn of the century always brings about a sense of reflection – a deep and thorough questioning of who we are and what the future holds.
"The turn of the century also coincided with the death of Elizabeth I and the beginning of a very different reign under King James. It was therefore a period of upheaval, ideologically and politically. It was also the age of expansionism – a period of extraordinary social and cultural change.
"Boundaries were being stretched, new worlds were being conquered, social hierarchies were being tested; the rise of capitalism under the merchant class was beginning to be felt. Many of England’s trading partners were from exotic places - Arabs, Africans and had enormous power – if not status. Race relations were becoming part of everyday life.
"At our own turn of the century – almost exactly 400 years later - we are, as a civilisation, struggling to understand the concept of difference. This production won’t attempt to re-set the play into an Australian context; it will let these themes speak through an imagined, theatrical Venice and Cyprus. It will nevertheless reflect concerns that face us everyday and will grapple with our own cultural demons.
"For me, Othello is about the racist mindset and its distortion of the way we view the world. Despite the accolades that define us as leaders and great citizens our self-worth is vulnerable to the values we inherit. And we all, as a society, dictate what those values are."
Copyright: Marion Potts, Bell Shakespeare Company, 2007. More on Bell Shakespeare Company: www.bellshakespeare.com.au
