A Thousand Words
Sunday, April 20th by scott malia
Take a good, long look at the picture that accompanies this posting. What is it you ask? It is kind of hard to tell because there is a lot happening. At first glance, it looks like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert by way of The Wicker Man. The people depicted are clearly taking part in some kind of parade, but it also has a kind of odd costume-party vibe to it as well. This most unusual picture comes to us from the United Kingdom, where throughout the country people are gearing up to celebrate Shakespeare’s 444th birthday.
The particular group of celebrants pictured here are from a sort of poly-theatrical theatre group that mixes puppetry and circus elements into its performances. The Globe (a kind of Mecca for the Shakespeare-devoted) is overseeing a week’s worth of gosh-ain’t-Shakespeare-great activities. On the actual day itself, a barge with a miniature version of an Elizabethan playhouse will float down a river. What? No giant floats of Shylock or Prospero? How about effigies of Christopher Marlowe or Ben Jonson? Maybe the whole thing could be capped off with a sing-along to the songs Ophelia sings before she drowns herself? Doesn’t that sound like fun for the kids? No? Well, perhaps no one will try these things at this particular festival, but never say never. If there’s one thing you can be sure of, it is that there is no limit to the varying ways that people will celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday.
