Say it like you mean it

I learned Shakespeare in high school, as a “classic,” meaning required reading. When I saw Shakespeare performed, it was either in grotesquely overacted films, or in school productions where actors struggled to enunciate Shakespeare’s archaic dialect. I did not take home much fondness for this sort of material.

But once in a great while, I have seen someone take these four-hundred-year-old texts and inhabit them – make them the speaker’s own, so that we see the character’s heart, not the schoolbook’s tedious lessons on grammar, character arcs, or foreshadowing. 

Here is Andrew Scott, as Hamlet, meditating on ending his life:

Originally at BBC Arts on Facebook

And here is Freddie Fulton, as Romeo, sneaking outside Juliet’s window and trying to express his infatuation:

@freddie_fulton Replying to @Plasibeau & #stitch with @Hi_Im_Meecha !! #acting #actor #southern #shakespeare #southernshakespeare #romeoandjuliet #booktok #book ♬ original sound – Freddie Fulton

Originally at Freddie Fulton’s TikTok