Kinder-Bard-en
Wednesday, March 19th by scott malia
Kids and Shakespeare are making plenty of headlines these days. Ever since the RSC’s announcement that kids should be taught Shakespeare from age four up, people have been debating when and how young people should be exposed to The Bard. On the heels of this debate is a news item about a kids program that performs musical comedy versions of Shakespeare’s plays in language and content understandable to (and appropriate for) kids. Despite the modernizations, some of the poetry has been retained. Current offerings include The Tempest and Hamlet.
I’m sorry, what? A musical, child-friendly version of Hamlet? Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the play about the young guy whose father is murdered by his uncle who then marries the young guy’s mom (who said lad might be a little TOO close to, if you catch my drift)? Then, doesn’t this dude kill his girlfriend’s father, prompting her to commit suicide? Doesn’t it all end with dead bodies EVERYWHERE, including the young guy, his mom and his pervy uncle? How exactly can this be turned into High School Musical? What did they have to cut to make it appropriate and, of what was left, how was it made into a musical? Does Hamlet sing Daughtry? In her mad scenes, does Ophelia sing a slowed-down version of Rihanna’s “Umbrella?” Maybe the end results are charming, but I don’t know that presenting Hamlet Montana necessarily whets kids’ appetites for future Shakespearean studies.
March 19th, 2008 at 7:02 am
I see your point, although it may not be as hard as you think. My kids recently watched an animated, musical version of Romeo and Juliet where the main characters were all fish, seals and other sea creatures. Nobody died, and it had a happy ending, but they still managed to retain a surprising portion of the original text and plot (including the downfall of Mercutio). On the one hand it’s painfully bad to see Shakespeare torn to bits like that, but on the other, I now have a 3yr old that wanders around the house saying, “Daddy? I’m Juliet Capulet, and Romeo is coming to the party to marry me.” It’s my goal to expose my kids first and foremost to the stories and characters, so that later when they do have to read them in school they won’t have that burden of saying “I don’t know what’s happening here.”
By the way, my kids also know a shortened version of King Lear, which could be argued as more bloody and depressing than even Hamlet. But in the version that they know, Cordelia comes back and saves her daddy from the scary forest. And nobody gets their eyes plucked out. I had to take far more liberties with that one than with The Tempest, but hey, it’s a start. How many 5yr olds do you know that ask if they can have a Cordelia doll for Christmas?
http://www.shakespearegeek.com
March 19th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
When I hear about things like these I get a little uneasy at first. My first reaction to some are “Oh no! They’re killing Shakespeare!” But that’s what I usually say about any bad production of anything I see. They’re not killing Shakespeare at all. They’re reviving him, albeit in a roundabout sort of way.
The point here is not whether they are putting on a true-to-the-text production or addressing the heavy themes in the works. Teachers and Directors putting on these productions are planting seeds of interest in Shakespeare in these young folks. You can’t expect young students to understand, enjoy, or appreciate the full body of any of Shakespeare’s works.
Children can be exposed to the things they’ll understand and connect with, and the Shakespeare they study can grow up along with them. The material covered being more complex as their minds develop. Just like Duane’s kids seem to be doing under the great teaching of their dad. It’s just a start, and it’s a very good start.
Yes, it seems odd at first, and maybe not too helpful. But from an educational or parenting point of view these productions are a great start. Just think of how far these kids will come if they start loving Shakespeare at this age and continue to studying his works!
-G
BardBlog.com
March 25th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
[…] a recent post - http://www.enotes.com/blogs/shakespeare/2008-03/kinder-bard-en/ - which discussed an article about exposing children to Shakespeare at the age of 4. I agree […]
April 1st, 2008 at 11:47 pm
[…] Malia presents Kinder-Bard-en on enotes.com’s very own Shakespeare Blog. Some interesting questions are raised in response […]