Bending Gender: Elaborate upon and assess the effects of performing Shakespeare with an all-male cast.
Assess the effects of all-male cast for the actors -You can discuss the process here (using the idea of a more boisterous process as mentioned by one of the director’s in the articles i sent) -You can also discuss the precise challenges of performing a female role for a male actor without it becoming satirical/ or humorous. There is this notion that ‘playing down’ (ie. as males have more power than females in society) then it is funny for a man to play a woman – so what particular challenges does this pose for a male actor?
Assess the effects of all-male cast in terms of audience reception (you could potentially discuss social media responses here as well – the ‘abuse of power’ season which was mentioned in one of the articles? Assess the effects of working in all-male cast – The Process Then a conclusion. (written in third person) Criterion for the essay- Research into the theory and practice, demonstrate an application of appropriate research methods in the identification and understanding of broad contexts and specific practices. Some extra research links to add if necessary https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vIli8OtZ0MC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=gender+in+shakespeare&ots=fjYCbtQoKZ&sig=1vU6iUNEgwG8jAz7LFINY9TO2Yc#v=onepage&q=gender%20in%20shakespeare& https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/dec/04/shakespeare-male-female-roles