Today an envelope arrived in my mailbox from Charles L. Hayter of Scarborough, Ontario. It contained a photocopy of a typewritten letter Mr Hayter sent to Des McAnuff, artistic director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, about his production of As You Like It.
As Mr Hayter's opinion of the production is quite different from mine, I thought I would share it with the readers of the Nestruck on Theatre blog. I spoke with Mr. Hayter over the phone earlier today and he graciously gave me permission to post it here. - J. Kelly Nestruck
Friday, Nov. 19, 2010
Dear Mr. McAnuff,
I persuaded my lady friend of long-standing, who had never seen a Shakespeare play, to read As You Like it prior to going to view it at Stratford on Sunday, October 31.
She not only read it but read it twice and then listened to a recording of an American company on tape.
Before the performance actually started in the theatre that afternoon some soldier figures appeared at the corner of the stage and my companion asked me what significance they might have, and I had to answer her truthfully and with regret that they have updated the play.
Updated, she responded, what do you mean by that? I told her that, unfortunately, updating a play is not unusual these days, and explained that because the soliders on stage looked to be in pre-war fascist-like uniforms the play has probably been rehearsed and performed as if the action is actually in the 1930s, as the uniforms remind me of a sort of mismatch of German, Italian and perhaps Hungarian military.
I need hardly explain that this did not go down well with her, this explanation.
When the play started with a gardener taking an extraordinary amount of time moving stones from the ground to a wheelbarrow some distance hence she whispered in my ear, "This is not in the book."
Unfortunately, again, I whispered back, some directors take liberties and try to out-Shakespeare Shakespeare.
I must say that if I had been playing the gardener, servant to Orlando, and my mother had been out front in the audience witnessing this long drawn-out and gauche mime, she would have called out (she had no inhibitions) "For God's sake, Les, Get on with it!"
Sometime later in the play she asked me when does Touchstone come on. I had to be honest with her and told her that Touchstone had been on in at least two scenes so far. Well, what is he wearing, said she? I haven't seen anybody in a fool's costume so far.
So throughout this production I had to keep trying, and during the intermissions, to update my companion on what was going on and why people were dressed the way they were and why the production of this As You Like It seemed so un-Shakespeare despite the words not being altered and all the characters with the same names as in the dramatis personae - hope I got that right!
My innocent companion's mystified afternoon was further complicated by Jaques being in a bowler and an umbrella and looking like a twentieth century business man. The only explanation I could offer my mixed-up ladyfriend was that Jacques might be impersonating the MC in Cabaret, circa late-twenties and possibly early-thirties Berlin.
This relevance was lost on my long-suffering sweetheart.
Again, I had advised her on how lovely two of the Shakespeare songs were in this production, that is prior to seeing As You Like It - It Was a Lover and her Lass and Under the Greenwood Tree - and how we can look forward to the accompanying instruments of the period: the lute, recorders, viols, hautboy - hope I got that spelling right - and the rebec. Well, you know what you gave us, Mr McAnuff: a saxophone and a guitar - the live instruments. The tragedy here (in a comedy) were the French horn, trumpet and the organ or piano which were not being played but which the players at these instruments were miming the playing of them while sound dubbing of these instruments were piped in.
What a tragedy! So Stratford loses two customers for next year. I guess if you and the cast enjoyed what you did to As You Like It then "All's Well That Ends Well".
Your truly,
Charles L. Hayter