A panel of Shakespeare academics, directors and enthusiasts will be going head-to-head to try to ensure their favourite play comes out on top as part of week of events at The Hive celebrating the Bard.
As part of national Shakespeare Week, running Monday March 24 to March 30, The Hive is hosting a number of activities, one of which is a panel debate about which play should be crowned The Hive’s favourite Shakespeare play.
The University of Worcester’s Professor of Shakespeare Studies, Nicoleta Cinpoeş, is on the panel. “It's interesting to look at which plays speak to the world now, and which did at different moments in time,” she said. “It’s something that changes I find with what’s happening, not just in terms of one's own development, learning and growth but perhaps understanding plays that are about different stages in your life. There are also plays that speak more to us in changes of wider cultural circumstances; social, political, environmental concerns, gender roles, war and conflict.”
The Great Shakespeare Showdown panel discussion takes place on Wednesday March 26, 6.30pm-7.30pm. Panellists also include Senior Lecturer in Theatre, Film and Media Production, Dr Daniel Somerville, and Academic Liaison Librarian in the Institute of Arts and Humanities, Tom Mandall, both from the University, and performance artist and Shakespeare enthusiast Ginny Lemon. Audience members can share their thoughts and pitch their own favourites, then it will be put to a vote. Tickets cost £1.
Of Shakespeare’s 38 plays, Professor Cinpoeş said some are performed regularly around the world and others hardly at all. She said it was interesting to see that the same play could be interpreted by different people for sometimes completely opposing purposes and that she believed the Bard’s plays help us learn and understand how we see the world today.
Dr Somerville added: “As a theatre artist what I realise about Shakespeare is that the plays seem to be infinitely adaptable. The same play can be re-staged, re-interpreted again and again. Each generation finds new meanings and nuances. Each director can make a commentary about something topical and yet keep the language of the original play - because Shakespeare's writing is so layered. Shakespeare was a man of the theatre, so he was always thinking about what his actors could do, what the audiences would like or at least connect with.”
Ginny said: “I love how even after all these years, you can bring out a play which can still resonate with today’s society, whether that be love, despair, fantasy or war. When directed and acted well they can reflect and simulate modern day society and current affairs. Personally I am bringing an ‘everyday’ perspective. Whilst I sit with a panel of experts, I really do just love watching Shakespeare through the magic of stage and screen.”
Tom said: “I’m not a purist and some plays I think are dulled through overexposure, but part of the wonder of Shakespeare is that there is room for all manner of approaches and that the work provokes and sustains rediscovery through time and with audiences.”
The Week includes on Monday, March 24, an opportunity to visit the Worcestershire Archives at The Hive to view Shakespeare’s marriage bond, 1pm-1.30pm and 6pm-6.30pm. Tickets cost £5.
Book your places on The Hive website What’s On page: https://www.thehiveworcester.org/whats-on.html