Spirits are not finely touched but to fine issues...

Hello everyone! My last update was on Tuesday, but Wednesday and Thursday were pretty normal days so I won't say much about them. Thursday night we did have a good time at the Porter, where they were having local bands play in the basement.  We got to talk to some of the guys from one of the bands after, which was pretty cool.

Friday was my Shakespeare class's trip to Stratford-upon-Avon to see Measure for Measure done by the Royal Shakespeare Company! We got to spend the whole day walking around Stratford first, which was quite pleasant, and we had very yummy scones with jam and clotted cream at a cute little patisserie. The play itself was, I thought, wonderful. I thought that the actors were magnificent, the funny parts were hilarious, and the serious parts were very well done. I am no theatre critic of course, but sometimes I prefer it that way, because I tend to enjoy whatever I see, even if other people don't think it was well done. In this case though, everyone thought it was great.  It was very interesting, because Measure for Measure is very much a play about human nature, sexuality and morality, and where lines should be drawn between government and personal lives. (A very contemporary topic) This director chose to put it in an S&M theme, so it seemed to be the more leather your character was wearing, the more sexual and "bad" your morals were.  It is very ambiguous though, really, with none of the characters being "evil" and none of them being perfectly "good."  My favorite character was in fact Pompey, one of the pimps, who was dressed in all leather. He isn't a bad person, he is just "a poor fellow that would live," any way he can. Plus, he was definitely the funniest, my friends and I were cracking up when he was at his best. And I found out later it was his first RSC production!

Here is a youtube video where the director talks about the play, which I found fascinating, and if you are interested in Measure for Measure you may as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZPvfKcuRGs but if you have never read it or have no idea what it's about, it might just confuse you.

Before the play,  ASE arranged a visit to the Shakespeare archives, which is a really big privilege, where we looked at reviews, prompt copies of scripts, and photographs from past performances of Measure for Measure. It was really interesting to look at each script and see what individual directors had cut or rearranged, and how the set was designed. In two of the versions, they had one of the prisoners, Barnardine, do his scene completely nude.  In our version, he came up through the bottom of the stage (he was in the prison below), and for a couple lines he was just halfway up, so we could only see his shirtless upper body.  We collectively let out a sigh of relief when he revealed his leather pants.

This post title is a quote from the play that NOBODY in past performances ever left in the script, because the full quote:
 "Spirits are not finely touched
But to fine issues: nor nature never lends
The smallest scruple of her excellence
But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines
Herself the glory of a creditor,
Both thanks and use"
As it is is rather inscrutable, and it is in the very first scene of the play. Past directors must have decided that it was too confusing, and they didn't want to lose their audience right from the beginning. Or they just thought their audience was stupid. In the version that we saw, we were careful to notice that they DID leave it in. We were glad they did, because we had studied the play, and were rather fond of that passage. Also, we felt like it was a mark of confidence in the audience, which we appreciated.

That's about it for today! (I'm trying for brevity!)