May 18--In this age of binge-watched "Game of Thrones" and the George Lucas Museum of Endless Narrative Arts, it's probably not surprising that nobody seems to want to do just one of Shakespeare's history plays any more.
Why confine yourself to, say, "Richard II," when there is a grander narrative of inbred families with competing claims to the British throne on tap? Especially during a citywide commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's sad demise.
After all, the great man wrote as many as 11 history plays (depending on what you count), and they include two great tetralogies of English history. Confusingly, the set he wrote last, ("Richard II," "Henry IV, Part One," "Henry IV, Part Two" and "Henry V") takes place chronologically before the set he wrote first (the three parts of "Henry VI" and "Richard III," or, as I like to call it, Tricky Dicky the Triple). But in these heady days of prequels and sequels, that is no problemo for the sophisticated populace.
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Ergo, Edward Hall's sexily titled "Rose Rage," a distillation of the three parts of "Henry VI." Or, more recently, Phyllida Lloyd's nearly all-woman production of both parts of "Henry IV." Or "Tug of War," Barbara Gaines' two-part adaptation of six of Shakespeare's history plays, the first part of which has its opening night this weekend.
Expected running time: five hours and 45 minutes, including breaks. And how's your weekend looking?
Hopefully, mine will be very interesting. For Gaines, the Nik Wallenda of the classical theater set, is attempting something that I don't think anyone has ever quite managed.
"I want to tell the story through the common soldier," she said over a recent lunch.
Why is that a big deal, you might think? After all, "Game of Thrones" tells a story of ruler-rivalry and civil war with frequent pivots to how it affects the grunts on the front line or, say, the blacksmith's apprentice. And E.L. Doctorow did much the same thing in his prismatic saga of the Civil War, "The March." You get the views of the generals, and also the guys worried about actually taking the bullets.
But have you read any of Shakespeare's history plays? And, if so, do you remember anything about the actual foot soldiers? Did you ever enjoy one of their rousing soliloquies?
Thought not. They rarely have names, unless you count Soldier One and the like. Old Bill wasn't much interested in the poor recruits. He usually found his comedy in the tavern types, and he allowed his battle scenes to be dominated by, well, the people running the war. The ordinary soldier's role in most Shakespearean productions is to shout some faux-Elizabethan version of "Huzzah!" as some privileged, metaphor-loving toff like Henry V dispenses, depending on your point of view, either wonderful words of heroism or patriotic platitudes designed to serve his own claims to the throne.
The working stiffs are in the play, but kinda. They're mostly anonymous. And silent.
So how do you tell the story of the overlooked, being as Shakespeare gave them very few words?
"Well, for one thing I named the soldiers in rehearsal," Gaines said. "And I have tried to create an adaptation where you can follow one soldier through all three of those plays."
And why bother with that? Gaines does not lack for clarity of purpose.
"I am interested," she said, "in why people start wars, why they stay in them and why they can't get out of them.
"Everything we are going through now is in these plays."
As I mentioned, "Tug of War" is a two-part operation. Part One, opening this weekend, is themed around foreign wars. It includes some of the rarely seen Edward III (likely written by Shakespeare and Thomas Kyd), much of "Henry V," and much of "Henry VI, Part One."
Part Two, slated for the fall, will be themed around civil wars and includes most of "Henry VI, Parts Two and Three," and "Richard III."
So there you have it: Foreign wars, civil wars and the ordinary soldier -- a Gaines metaphor for the human cost of the game of thrones.
"I've been working on this for four years," she said. "It is my biggest thing ever. If I died after this you would have to write that she died a happy woman. Especially if one person saw the shows, understood the parabola of insanity, chaos and vengeance, and then changed the world."
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
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