Some of the people in our class did not like the idea that the Beckett Estate could come in and shut down a Beckett production if they felt like it was not honoring the wants of the playwright. I found an article highlighting the legal battle between the Beckett Estate and the Pontedera Theatre. Here is the link to the article… http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/feb/04/arts.italy.
This particular theatre was doing Waiting for Godot and cast women in two of the roles. The director justified it by saying, “Silvia and Luisa look like men on stage and I chose them because they have played male roles before. We have used the text in its entirety and have in all other ways remained completely faithful to Beckett's work. We have followed his stage instructions down to the tiniest detail ... There is no element in the directing, acting, costumes or make-up that refers to a change in the characters (Article)”. According to the article, when the Beckett Estate found out about this they issued an injunction to shut down production.
The theatre ignored the requests of the Beckett Estate, that they discontinue production, and continued production. They fought it out in court and the court sided with the theatre. The lawyer for the theatre talked about the victory saying, “The sentence is valuable, not just from the technical point of view of the interpretation of the law. It reiterates that men and women have equal rights, given that it still seems necessary to point this out (article)."
The court overruled the Beckett Estate by looking at this situation as a civil rights issue. However, the article cites a 1992 case involving the same cross gender casting of Waiting for Godot, where the court sided with the Beckett Society. In this case the courts ruled that the theatre was in violation of Samuel Beckett’s moral rights.
I thought I had made my mind up about this issue. After hearing what both sides have to say I have been pushed to the center on this issue. A part of me says that the integrity of the playwright must always be honored no matter how specific. The other part of me agrees with the court. Yes, the parts were written as men, however the women playing the characters are playing them as men. It seems like the Beckett Estate takes things too far sometimes but the wishes of Samuel Beckett must always come first. However, I agree with the director of the Pontedera production. As long as the director stays true to the script, they should not be forced to discriminate against actors because of gender of ethnicity.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Thanks Gary for a really interesting article!
This is so fascinating to me, especially considering the women are still dressed and played like men. It is strange to me that this would even be a bother, because I see it as actors playing the roles, not women playing men, although I know it was a conscious choice to cast women. But it was also a conscious choice to cast women who 'look like men on stage'. The feminist in me says it still doesn't settle right. Even though they are given the opportunity to play these parts, it is only because they are forced to be like men. It's a very bizarre situation.
I understand that this is equal opportunity from the court's perspective, but I also understand that those rules sometimes don't apply to theatre. Acting seems to be the one place where people can say, "Sorry, you didn't get the job because you are (black, white, asian, too fat, too skinny, a man, a woman, too tall, too short, too blonde, too brunette, too awkward, not awkward enough, etc. etc.) and that's just not what the part calls for." Sometimes it doesn't matter how talented you are or how much experience you have, you have to fit the part. And even though they are women in this version of "Endgame", they seem to be fine fitting the parts.
I must agree with Beth and Gary here. What an interesting situation... Working in the world of theatre does require that you "fit" the role in being cast. Talent and experience do not necessarily dictate you being cast. I think it fine that the women were cast in this production. However, my artistic side doesn't necessarily want them to play it as men. I think the message and material of Mr. Beckett could be kept intact with women playing it as women, and I find it sad that the Beckett Society wouldn't want this to be done. They do have a tendency (it seems) to take things a bit too far. But, protecting the playwright's work and integrity is a noble goal for any organization, and I believe we will see a loosening of control the society mandates over time. At least I hope we will…
Post a Comment