To Be or Not to Be Innit

jaysay · 26-04-2008, 10:08

Satirical writer Martin Baum has reashed some of Shakespeares works into Ali Gee style language. This is the start of Romeo and Juliet "Verona was de turf of de feuding Montagus and de Capulet families. And coz they was always brawling and stuff, de prince of Verona told them to cool it or else they was gonna get well mashed if they carried on larging it with each other" The play ends "And they all lived in peace and harmony except fo Romeo and his bitch Jools, who was both well dead" Some how I don't think this is going to catch on, but what do you think

Margaret Pilkington · 26-04-2008, 10:12

I hate it......leave the classical literature alone...and all this garbage about getting children to read it......they won't read the classics done up as something else, because the story line might be there, but it won't instil in them the love of Shakespeare...it takes a dedicated teacher with enthusiasm for the Bard to do that.

katex · 26-04-2008, 11:50

Although I completely agree with Margaret, it's just the fact they are putting it up as a carrot for children to get them interested in Shakespeare. Would be better leaving it as just good fun (or have they?). Can imagine it gets very boring after a while though.

By the way Jaysay, presume you realise your thread title is Hamlet, not Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps should have read :"Romeo, Romeo, where ya' dossin?'

Lilly · 26-04-2008, 12:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I hate it......leave the classical literature alone...and all this garbage about getting children to read it......they won't read the classics done up as something else, because the story line might be there, but it won't instil in them the love of Shakespeare...it takes a dedicated teacher with enthusiasm for the Bard to do that.

Hear Hear, Margaret.

Why can't they just read the original Shakespeare? Why do they have to mess about like this?

What a load of old bunkum.

emamum · 26-04-2008, 12:27

im not sure.........i love shakespeare but some people cant understand the language...im not happy about it being messed with but i do want other people to be able to enjoy it as much as i do..

Lilly · 26-04-2008, 12:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by emamum23

im not sure.........i love shakespeare but some people cant understand the language...im not happy about it being messed with but i do want other people to be able to enjoy it as much as i do..

If there are words that people don't understand they should investigate and learn. It's not hard.

Putting things into chav speak won't help matters.

English literature is just what its title suggests. Why dumb it down?

emamum · 26-04-2008, 12:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilly

If there are words that people don't understand they should investigate and learn. It's not hard.

Putting things into chav speak won't help matters.

English literature is just what its title suggests. Why dumb it down?

thats far too much effort... people are reading less because tv delivers everything straight to you and alot easier.. im talking about getting it to a wider audience that would otherwise not bother.

Lilly · 26-04-2008, 12:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by emamum23

thats far too much effort... people are reading less because tv delivers everything straight to you and alot easier.. im talking about getting it to a wider audience that would otherwise not bother.

Far too much effort to learn the definition of a word?

You only need to look it up in a dictionary or on the internet. It's not a cross country run.

I'm not against the showing of the classics on television because that will be spoken as it was written.

I'm against translating the classics into chav speak.

emamum · 26-04-2008, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilly

Far too much effort to learn the definition of a word?

You only need to look it up in a dictionary or on the internet. It's not a cross country run.

I'm not against the showing of the classics on television because that will be spoken as it was written.

I'm against translating the classics into chav speak.

some people are just too lazy to look something up...... i had someone online the other day that had been given a list of big words to look up as her homework.... what did she do?? asked me.... id given her definions for a few and procrastinating came up...my definition was... messing about on the internet, talking to you friends when you should be doing your homework!

Gayle · 26-04-2008, 12:44

The beauty of Shakespeare is that it can be adapted, modernised and set in any setting that you want and still work.

I like a good bit of traditional Shakespeare but equally I think there's room for creativity and innovative approaches. I'm just about to start directing Shakespeare for Kidz: The Dream - it's a simplified version of Midsummernights Dream for 8 - 11 year olds.

Lilly · 26-04-2008, 12:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gayle

The beauty of Shakespeare is that it can be adapted, modernised and set in any setting that you want and still work.

I like a good bit of traditional Shakespeare but equally I think there's room for creativity and innovative approaches. I'm just about to start directing Shakespeare for Kidz: The Dream - it's a simplified version of Midsummernights Dream for 8 - 11 year olds.

Why 'kidz' instead of 'kids'?

Sorry, just being picky now.

I'm sure your production won't be spoken like the example that Jaysay posted. There's a difference between an adapted version for young children and making a mockery of the original.

Margaret Pilkington · 26-04-2008, 13:55

Once you mess about with it, it really ceases to be Shakespeare......and I stand by the comment that someone who has a love of the Bard can instil enthusiasm into children, by demonstrating their own enthusiasm.
I went to a very lowly secondary modern school, we did Shakespeare and I loved it...we even went to the theatre to see if performed and I thought it was magical.
It isn't really any different to Harry Potter...imagine the furore if someone messed about with that.

jaysay · 26-04-2008, 13:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by katex

Although I completely agree with Margaret, it's just the fact they are putting it up as a carrot for children to get them interested in Shakespeare. Would be better leaving it as just good fun (or have they?). Can imagine it gets very boring after a while though.

By the way Jaysay, presume you realise your thread title is Hamlet, not Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps should have read :"Romeo, Romeo, where ya' dossin?'

Ya I knoz katex its just that was the headline in the Daily Mail article yesterday innit, but even so don't think Romeo did that much dossin

Gayle · 26-04-2008, 14:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilly

Why 'kidz' instead of 'kids'?

Sorry, just being picky now.

Because that's the name of the production that we've bought the licence for.

Shakespeare 4 Kidz - Home

polly · 26-04-2008, 15:46

Shakespeare has been dead for something like 500 years so isnt it about time we buried him?

so many teenagers suffer each year at his hands lets get rid of him. Surely in the last 500 years of literature there must be something else worth reading.

To be blunt, I dont care if The Bard is performed in Chav version or the original Which is equally gobble do goo it is all painful and time for us to get rid of him