“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”(All’s Well that Ends Well, Act 1 Scene 1)
Shakespeare was the original hippy. He created ideals of love and devotion with such arrogance and assurance, that his stories, his poems, his dreams still live on with us today. He was a crowd pleaser and wrote plays that would sell tickets, but his success lay in an understanding of the core of human nature, which never really changes, however times have. His stories may not have been the originals but they are the ones that have been remembered. When we see a couple of young love birds, do we shout out “look at Tristan and Isolde over there,” or is it Romeo and Juliet who spring to mind? When we think of the original literary witches, is it the it Graeae of Greek mythology or is it those hags of Macbeth fame that we recall?
He adopted myths and legends in such a way he made them his own. I like to think of him a little as a Tudor Quentin Tarantino, stealing everyone else’s best bits and weaving them together in such a way that he outclassed them all!
My favorite example of Shakespearean accessibility was when my Mum and Dad took me to the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon for my 18th birthday. We went for a gorgeous curry and then trundled off to see Pericles, Prince of Tyre. My Dad at this point was rather apprehensive of the whole thing, having been forced to endure Shakespeare in the old fashioned spoon fed way of the late 60’s and early 70’s. So we got our seats, and Dad plastered on a smile for my benefit as the curtain came up.
Well, obviously the play was outstanding. It was the RSC after all! But the most memorable thing from that night for me was my dad’s rather scouse, astute assessment of a such a grand performance. “Yeah it was pretty good that! Once you got into the lingo and everything!”
The fact that Shakespeare, despite its age, can speak to someone through a great performance and reach them across the ages, societies and classes just goes to prove that, like like the big man said;
“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”(Sonnet 18)
And just for a giggle, here are a few one liners I’d been working on for the last event, which unfortunately I was a little too poorly to attend!
The clock struck nine when I did send the nurse,In half an hour she promised to return.Bloody NHS.
If music be the food of loveDubstep is a greasy kebab.
A fool thinks himself to be wiseBut a wise woman knows man is always a fool.
Some are born great, some achieve greatnessAnd some find happiness in a bottle of vodka.
If you prick us, do we not bleed?If you tickle us, do we not laugh?If you poison us, do we not die?And if you wrong us shall we not take you to Jeremy Kyle for a lie detector test?
The wheel is come full circle,Then the tire burst and it comes nowhere.
The course of true love never did run smoothUnless you handcuff him to a radiator then he isn’t going anywhere.Thanks for reading!L x