For those critics who found Kenneth Branagh’s every-word-is-sacred version of Hamlet to be a bit top heavy, a new Bard production will prove even more challenging. In a bold theatrical effort, the company in question is producing all of Shakespeare’s histories as a complete cycle. This marathon of storytelling is something of a mini-trend, with some companies presenting the plays in the order they were written while others place them in chronological order (according to history).

While the approach to such productions are undoubtedly epic with a capital E, I’m not sure what other purpose the conceit serves. As in Harry Potter and even The Lord of the Rings, such an epic treatment can be both a success and a hindrance. In such a vast (and some might say overblown) landscape, the small moments and nuances might get lost. In other words, in their desire to bring out all that is held sacred by fans of a given work or works, artists can potentially drown their audiences in significance. Shakespeare’s works are already writ large, and I don’t know that piling them on top of each other will make them anything other than, well, bigger.

Posted Sun, 26 Aug 2007 15:45:20 and filed under Branagh, Histories, Theatre. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.