Shakespeare Day 2020

For Shakespeare Day 2020, I recorded a speech from Troilus and Cressida. I chose Act 3 scene 2 when Cressida speaks to Troilus. You can listen to me on my YouTube channel here:

 

OK, it's not the perfect showcase video. I've got the blank wall ☑ I've got my feminine look on for the part ☑ But I've fallen down on the framing of the video - I've left my exercise equipment in view on the right hand side! ❎ 

Shakespeare Day seemed a good time to record myself in an acting role partly to celebrate Shakespeare and partly to satisfy StarNow requirements to showcase skills. Why Shakespeare? Well, I was brought up on Shakespeare. My mother taught English at secondary school and that always included teaching Shakespeare. She is also qualified to teach drama and incorporated it whenever possible in the classroom. So, when she taught me she did likewise, across many subjects including English Literature. She made sure I was made familiar with the classics so Shakespeare was a must! I loved it. We read his most famous plays together: Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Othello, As You Like It, All's Well That Ends Well, Taming of the Shrew, and King Lear. And acted them out together. We watched videos of them and other plays e.g. his historical plays and went to the theatre and Open Air Theatre to see Shakespeare productions. The highlight for me was when we travelled to Stratford upon Avon to see his birthplace. That was great! 

I started drama classes at the age of 4 and took English Literature at AS Level which included Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew (went to see traditional productions of this play one which was in 2003 starring an all female cast), 🎭Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (went to see theatre productions of this play), 🎭Attwood's Handmaid's Tale, and Carol Ann Duffy's The World's Wife (went to an excellent poetry reading/performance of this and I have a CD of it too!).🎭

A few years back I did further official study on Shakespeare's works as well as a whole course dedicated to the play Much Ado about Nothing. These were long-distance courses. As well as a course on Jane Austen.

 I have also read his Sonnets.

However, for my video, I wanted to choose a play my mother and I had never done together and one that was philosophical and feminist. The latter influenced which part of Troilus and Cressida I wanted to learn and record. The speech I chose is what I call a feminist one. 

Although Troilus and Cressida are categorised as one of Shakespeare's problem plays, nevertheless, these plays often centre on a social or political theme of the day. Unlike most critics, I don't share the negative view of Cressida. And this speech of hers is, I think, pivotal in helping us understand her. She had tried to stay cool about confessing her love for Troilus. But in line 1 she confesses she 'was won, my Lord, With the first glance...' In other words, it was love at first sight. Cressida then goes on to pretend she didn't love Troilus 'till now'. She doesn't literally think him a tyrant she merely worries that if she admits to loving him he'll have power over her. Love makes us vulnerable and Cressida is afraid to be vulnerable. But soon confesses that she has always been passionately in love with him. Startled by this confession she appears to regret it. Owing to society's restrictions on women's behaviour she had not wanted to openly show or declare her love for him. At this point, frustrated and slightly exasperated she wishes she was a man. Why? Because as a man she could act on her feelings without having to worry about society judging her for it. Or failing that, 'that we women had men's privilege of speaking first'. I think many women today feel like this. Men seem to always take the floor as their right. They speak first, speak over women and women often just listen and rarely interject! Cressida continues 'Sweet, bid me hold my tongue,...' she's clearly afraid she has said too much and embarrassed herself. Troilus's silence has made her say more than she intended. She ends with 'Stop my mouth' which is an invitation for Troilus to kiss her although, yet again, after he does so, she protests this wasn't her purpose and must leave.

What is Shakespeare's point here? I think, it's that women need to speak up and say what they are thinking and feeling. Being shy and coy is all very well but can be misinterpreted as disinterest. It doesn't help the woman. She just becomes annoyed with herself for showing weakness in not revealing her true feelings from the start. It doesn't help the man because he becomes confused whether the woman loves him or not. In other words, plain speaking goes a long way!