DUBAI: Marking the 400th death anniversary of William Shakespeare and his literary genius in today’s texting times may seem a bit out of sync to some. But ask Ben Crystal, the visiting Shakespearean expert and author, about the unlikely link and his answer will leave you stunned.
“Young people who are texting these days are using Shakespeare every day without realising it,” he says. “Here’s an example – Shakespeare would take a word like ‘shout’ and create another word like ‘unshout’. Today, youngsters ‘friend’ and ‘unfriend’ people all the time on social media. While texting each other, they create wonderful expressions with smileys, emojis and abbreviations like lol – now if there is one thing Shakespeare taught us, it is to play with words. He invented over 1,000 words that are still used today. The word ‘amazing’ which youngsters use all the time is something Shakespeare coined in King Richard III.”
If that isn’t fascinating enough, Crystal, who is making Shakespeare accessible to UAE audiences through his signature Passion in Practice (PIP) Shakespeare Ensemble over the last week, says, “To understand Shakespeare, you need to see and enact him, not read him. You must learn him by heart, not study by mind, because his plays are meant to be performed. They are not works of literature.”
Crystal said 80 per cent of the audiences who watched Shakespeare’s plays 400 years ago could not read. “His plays were never available to buy in a book form in those days. The only way to experience him was to see him perform. His works are universal and will be relevant because they talk about what it is to be human.”
The PIP Ensemble is out to introduce as many characters from Shakespeare’s plays as possible. “We have covered 15 plays during our shows. We have used only props, no sets or costumes, lighting or sound effects. We have tried to mirror the UAE’s culture wherever possible - we performed Romeo and Juliet without any kissing...”
The workshops in Dubai were organised by Ductac and Constellation Theatre Company.
