Much A-Dudes About Nothing
Friday, July 4th by scott malia
I recently read about a new all-male production of Much Ado About Nothing. This is far from novel; indeed, many productions of Shakespeare’s plays are performed with all-male or all-female casts. The question each time it happens, of course, is why? What does that approach mean now? Ostensibly, some of it is rooted in a historical interest in recapturing the feel of Shakespeare as it was performed in his own time. As is well known, the ladies’ roles were played by boy actors (which helps explain why so many Shakespearean female characters have such comparatively small roles). In essence, Shakespeare never wrote a part for a woman. He always wrote it for a man playing a woman.
You could argue this issue the same way the issue of race is often debated in Shakespeare. Just as some actors of color might balk at the idea of playing a part written by and for a white actor, so to might an actress reject playing a role that is essential a man’s version of what it means to be a woman. Politics aside, how do single-gendered productions escape novelty? Even if it is not played as a drag show (with unintentional comedy encourage and augmented), does it ultimately boil down to an acting exercise rather than a rendering of the play? That’s the quandary such productions must resolve: if you “forget” you’re watching a cross-gendered actor, then what is the point of doing it in the first place? If you notice (or are reminded of) the change, are you performing the play and its characters or commenting on them?
