Journalism of Courage
Actor John Bashford says that language is the soul of any Shakespearean play and if heeded to,can unravel many mysteries
To be or not to be – these are not just famous words from soliloquies in the play Hamlet,but also key to the character of the young Hamlet. Words go on to point the way and tell the audience about his next step and about story’s next turn says actor John Bashford,who was in the city to conduct a workshop on Shakespeare’s work.
“A TV show requires very less energy,as it captures fine expressions as well,while a stage show requires more energy. But the important task is to draw a line between high energy and fakeness. Even if one is exuding high amount of energy in dialogue delivery,one must look real,” says he.
People attending the workshop were made to enact and play parts to learn how to play with sound and words. “In any of his plays,language is character. If one is fine with language,he can bring out the character with ease. Because,words and their usage and sound of consonants and vowels bring the distinction of the character and tell us about his or her thinking pattern.”
Himanshu Singh,film-making student,who attended the workshop,says,”We all have read Shakespeare during school and are acquainted with his work,but knowing it from a person who comes from the land of Shakespeare was a different experience.”
Danielle Ganatra,teacher,says,”Pune University doesn’t offer much on Shakespeare. Being a literature student I have read about the concepts,but here in this workshop I learnt different applications and interpretations of the same concept,which was interesting.”
Talking about the adaptation of Shakespeare in different countries and their art forms,Bashford says,”Shakespeare’s works are universal and hence can reflect character in any culture in a very perfect and precise form.”
