Acting In Shakespearean Plays - article by MOREinfo-About.com

Acting in Shakespearean Plays

Acting in Shakespearean plays in later times has usually been attempted by the most gifted in the performing arts. Great roles such as that of Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Lady Macbeth and Juliet are coveted as marks of ability and achievement in acting. Acting in Shakespearean plays is demanding on several levels: the depth of characters, the complex language and the high drama in the tragedies and both boisterous and subtle humor in his comedies. Acting in Shakespearean plays reached the highest levels with such actors as John Barrymore, and more recently Richard Burton.

For those studying in the field of acting, performing Shakespearean roles is challenging and instructive. Acting the role of Juliet, for example, is appealing to young women who may be studying acting. The role of Lady Macbeth, by contrast, demands a depth of ability and maturity which it is difficult for a young novice to attain.

In Elizabethan times, women did not appear on stage in legitimate theatre, and thus young men took the roles of women. Apparently men acting seriously in the roles of women was quite natural for the times, whereas today such acting would be either farce or satire. A number of modern comedians have played the roles of women in movies, but such acting is always with comedic intent.

A few Shakespearean plays have been performed as motion pictures, and here the acting must be modified somewhat to adapt to the more intimate medium of film. While acting in a live theatre situation requires more expansive physical gestures, more vocal projection and some exaggeration of expression, performances in motion pictures must be more controlled and subtle because the camera picks up every aspect of acting in close detail, where over-acting can become unreal. At any rate, then and now, acting in Shakespearean plays presents a major challenge to performers.

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