The "Shakespeare" Treatment

The Great and Challenging Aspects of Staging Classics

by Augustin J Correro

One of the main goals of a TWTC production is to share with the audience a performance that is unique and innovative. We purposefully aim not to restage films, since movies will always do movies better than theatre artists. We like to bend expectations and try new things. We believe that's what will help us to keep theatre relevant and living. The alternative to living theatre is artificial theatre: theatre as an artifact.

We have great reverence for artifacts, don't get me wrong. However, artifacts aren't something we're normally allowed to touch. Just the same, it's hard for artifacts to touch us from the inside of a glass case—and we're interested in theatre that touches people.

Somewhat often, audience members express a feeling of disconnection (of not being touched) when they see classics produced. Moliere falls flat for them, or Sophocles is less of a tragedy and more of a snooze. The folks that share this feeling with me express that they appreciate the plays, but that they really don't derive enjoyment from seeing them. One culprit for this kind of audience exclusion is expectation. Producers and artists alike have to grapple with the expectations of what plays might-or-should look and sound like, sometimes to the detriment of the experience. Whether it's austere Ibsen or fancy-schmancy Shaw, people have expectations about plays and playwrights, and they can be hard to shake.

Several of Tennessee Williams' plays are American classics. Naturally, they come with expectations (conventions like Southern belles wrestling with desire or families battling over inheritance). In addition to informing how the better known plays are staged, the TW classics dictate how the general public views the plays they're not as familiar with. For example, it's hard to find a review of a Tennessee Williams play that doesn't compare the play being discussed to Streetcar, The Glass Menagerie, or Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. 

In addition to fulfilling expectations set down by other plays, some productions of Williams' works seem to mimic conventions from previous stagings, giving the audience some approximation of what they might have come to expect. This creates even more stagnancy in how Williams' plays are staged. 

However, even though many productions err on the familiar side, others blow the lid off of those expectations. They challenge the expectations, toss off the conventions, and create unique iterations of the plays. For the audience, it really can go either way. It can be an absolute thrill to see a complete departure or a style of Tennessee they never expected, or it can be a blazing hot mess. 

When it comes to staging plays, there are those who would say "do it like it's been done before, always", or more pragmatically "give the people what they want". These are valid notions, but to illuminate the other side of the argument, I'd like to draw a comparison between Tennessee Williams and the other greatest English-speaking playwright: William Shakespeare.

There are die-hard purists in both the Williams and the Shakespeare camps, suggesting the actor doesn't breathe or blink unless it's in the script . There are also those who would yank the literary texts out of the library and burn the books, choosing only to stage the heart and soul of the plays, with no regard for the particulars. We at TWTC prefer a more measured approach than either of these, and we're not alone.

There are lots of factors which contribute to the "Shakespeare Treatment", where we universally acknowledge that something is "great", but when we go to see it or pick it up to present it, we can't figure out why it doesn't make us feel "great". It's also hard to express why to those around us because we're afraid to sound unsophisticated when we say "Shakespeare is over my head" or "Tennessee Williams is like grandma stuff". We can feel left out when we're told that Shakespeare is universal and that Tennessee Williams is the poet of the human soul, but that production with those good actors around that lacy table just wasn't our cup of tea. I've been there. Then I saw productions that changed my mind.

Some of the most thrilling iterations of Shakespeare that I've ever seen were reimagined, updated in terms of staging, or non-traditionally cast. Some of them were painstakingly staged to resemble the original productions but focused on the audience's understanding rather than showcasing the esoteric virtuosity of the performers. Either way works, as long as it's audience-centered. By treating Shakespeare's plays as living art, companies are able to engage new audiences, captivate existing ones, and challenge artists—all while respecting the text. Rather than pumping formaldehyde into the plays to preserve them at just below room temperature, these kinds of productions keep blood flowing to the heart and brain of theatre, keeping it alive, hot, and vital.

The same can be said of Williams' plays, and it's our hope that more productions will exhibit daring, innovation, and imagination. We've seen it work (we've seen it not-so-much work, too), and TWTC is committed to sharing new, unique, and enriched stagings with the New Orleans community.

Our upcoming production of Small Craft Warnings by Tennessee Williams features a diverse cast and is set during the holidays, present day. It's performed very close to the audience in a bar (the setting put down by TW in the script), and you can drink from the very same bar as the characters. These choices are all departures from previous productions, but were made with respect for the text and the audience. See how it makes you feel. We'll see you at the theatre!

Small Craft Warnings by Tennessee Williams

December 10-20, Thursdays-Monday. 8pm Weekdays, 7pm Saturdays & Sundays. 

Performed at Mag's 940 - 940 Elysian Fields (at Elysian & North Rampart)

Tickets can be purchased at www.twtheatrenola.com or by calling 504-264-2580