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Shakespearean Afterlifes: Ten Characters with a Life of Their
Own
By John O'Connor
356 pages
£16.99
Icon Books
Dateline: 30th November, 2003
The concept of the Top 10 is becoming increasingly common and has now
spread far wider than Top of the Pops.
Now, John O'Connor, a lecturer and writer, has chosen a list of the
ten most popular characters created by William Shakespeare and turned
them into a fascinating and very entertaining book.
The approach that the book takes can perhaps be summarised by the author's
comment on Shakespeare's R & J by Joe Colarco. "For
me, versions like this so often unlock new meanings, or refreshingly
express known ones, in ways that more traditional and 'faithful' renditions
by major established companies - somewhat depressingly - don't get anywhere
near".
The book can be slightly unbalanced as O'Connor follows his interests
and enthusiasms wherever they may lead. His main aim is to pursue the
fortunes of his chosen fictional heroes through the 400 years since
the life of the playwright who created them.
Sometimes, the reader is assailed by descriptions of weird and wonderful
adaptations of the bard such as the musical Return to the Forbidden
Planet, Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,
not to mention ballets by Prokofiev, operas by all and sundry and two
films starring John Wayne!
In other chapters, O'Connor relies on interviews with contemporary
actors and actresses such as Sinead Cusack, Sir Derek Jacobi and Alexander
Gilbreath to hear an actor's view of Shakespeare's major protagonists.
He also looks into Shakespeare's sources and follows performance history
with great erudition and clearly a vast amount of research.
The major surprise is that where one expects an academic to be dry
and learned, Mr O'Connor wears his learning remarkably lightly and Shakespearean
Afterlifes is generally an extremely entertaining and light way
to get underneath the skins of the biggest names from Shakespeare. Far
too often, as one is learning about, for example, Cleopatra, comedy
will insert itself in a form such as that of Amanda Barrie who played
the part, opposite Sid James' Anthony, in Carry on Cleo.
Amidst the lighter material, O'Connor also analyses more serious subjects
in depth. These include the anti-Semitic treatment of Shylock, the psychology
of Hamlet and the changing relationship between Prospero and Caliban
as social standards adapt.
This is a wonderful way to soak up a great deal of information and
if some of the chapters were given to children, they might be far more
enthusiastic about a dead playwright than force-feeding them the plays
and making them read dusty tomes of dreary theory.
Shakespearean Afterlives is a reasonably priced book that will
give great pleasure to anyone with even the vaguest interest in William
Shakespeare.
For the record, we now have on immaculate authority, a top 10 that
reads
Romeo and Juliet
Henry the Fifth
Cleopatra
Shylock
Richard the Third
Lady Macbeth
Hamlet
Kate
Prospero
Philip
Fisher
You can buy Shakespearean
Afterlifes: Ten Characters... from our Bookshop for £11.89
Articles Indices:
Articles from 2004
Articles from 2003
Articles from 2002
Articles from 2001
Articles from 2000
Articles from 1999
Articles from 1998
Articles from 1997
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