That rapid movement makes for aerobic fun but also represents a return, in a sense, to traditions of the Elizabethan stage, which did not use scenery. Shakespeare recognized the problem of showing location shifts and battles on a bare stage, so he used a narrator who encouraged audience members to use their imaginations: "Can this cockpit (theatre) hold the vasty fields of France? ... Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts."
The play's religious flavor, which some truncated versions omit, also came through. Shakespeare has King Henry V thank the director of events for victory at Agincourt: "Take it, God,/For it is none but thine! ... And be it death proclaimed through our host/To boast of this or take the praise from God/Which is his only."
Shakespeare productions across the country typically depend on the initiative of a drama entrepreneur, who functions like his predecessors on 19th century wagon trains: For example, Christopher Carter Sanderson founded the Gorilla Repertory during the 1990s and directed this summer's "Henry V." That may mean shifting management: Sanderson is in the U.S. Navy Reserve and is scheduled for deployment in the Persian Gulf this fall.
Still, the shows seem to go on. Perhaps, as our language grows coarser, Shakespeare's roses smell ever sweeter.
Marvin Olasky
Marvin Olasky is editor-in-chief of the national news magazine World. For additional commentary by Marvin Olasky, visit www.worldmag.com.
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