I’m very peculiar about plays. When I’m in the mood to experience theatre, often I find myself rummaging through the Google video section with a less than satisfied attitude about the whole ordeal. My recent problem with missing Hamlet in Buffalo, NY on my way back from Niagara Falls prompted me to pause my perpetual reading of Don Quixote. I’m not sure if I’ll ever finish that book at this rate.
On the other hand, I am still reading other works and being productive in the meantime. I’ve fit many stories into the reading breaks of that novel. I’m not usually a “several irons in the fire” type person, but with reading I can be. Slow and steady will win this race. I also think not having anyone else to talk about it slows up the progress, too. Why bother, when the majority of your neighbors stopped reading after high school, right?
There is a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet starring Patrick Stewart and David Tennant. These actors are well known to me through other shows, namely Star Trek: The Next Generation and Dr. Who, but I’ve come to realize it was modernized. I get really weird with modernization, as it often feels out of place. It’s like putting drywall over plaster, when the plaster is what needed to be reconditioned. Is that being a “purist”? I have no idea. It simply feels better that way.
I also find reading a play gives me more enjoyment than watching it on stage or screen. What’s better about it is I can control the delivery of each character as I would want to see it. Sometimes actors and actresses don’t play a part in an interpretation I find plausible and just reading the script allows me to bypass that problem. Is that being a control freak, or having a certain preference?
How about you? Would you rather watch a play or read a play?
Corvidae in the Fields 