I haven't reviewed anything for a while. That doesn't mean I'm not watching theatre - where lockdown has allowed, I've streamed shows and watched clips and enjoyed theatre and the arts where I can. I simply haven't been in the right headspace to actively write about the performances I've enjoyed. Somehow my voice hasn't felt relevant.
Young Bloods was all about the power of your voice. Whether that is orating to a crowd of people, exploring a character's voice, or speaking to friends and family: your voice matters. Your opinion matters.
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| Photo taken from the RSC Instagram: @thersc |
This theatrical experiment (I'm calling it 'experiment' because, for me, that is what it was. It felt more like watching a rehearsal than watching a polished performance. This isn't a bad thing: theatre is about experimenting). So yes, this experiment really sparked something in me. I found myself arguing with it in my head as the show continued, and wanting to talk about it with people afterwards. This feels like an achievement.
The premise of the show was to take the voices of young people and relate their opinions to extracts from Shakespeare. For example, one young person spoke of LGBTQ+ rights, so the actors took the famous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet and cast Juliet as a male character. Within this speech, Juliet asks "what's in a name?" and this really spoke to the issues of identity that the LGBTQ+ community face today as society attempts to label and un-label them. In another example, the young person spoke of racism and xenophobia, and the actors responded with Shylock's speech from The Merchant of Venice, in which he explains that Jews have "hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions," just as Christians do. Thus, a correlation between Shakespeare's words and the words of the young people of today was formed through experimental theatre.
The result in my mind was conflicted. At once, I wanted to agree, to shout yes, we need change and we need people to stand up for what they believe in. But at the same time, a certain naivety was revealed. One of the young people said that generations before us have ignored these issues, and that our generation is being left to clean up their mistakes. She was speaking about climate change, and the actors responded with one of Titania's speeches from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Fast forward to a more recent character, and we see that Sir David Attenborough has dedicated his life to caring for the planet, putting a tremendous effort into persuading people to do better.
I'm not disagreeing with the young person's sentiment as I completely agree: climate change is urgent, and we must change our ways and do better, but it is not a new issue. Rights for minorities, protection for people and animals, the top 1% getting the best while the rest of us suffer for it - these are all issues which have been raised and fought over for centuries in one form or another, in one society or another. Shakespeare is a useful tool for bringing awareness to new issues, but we can also use literature to reflect on our own history and recognise patterns in our politics and attitudes.
What to take from this? Whatever you like.
