I remember when I was a
college student- I was awestruck with our literature professor for her wisdom,
Dr. Espina – I forgot her first name—but like J.K. Rowling’s experience with
the classics corridor (from her
professor—she mentioned her name in her
Harvard speech) – I did not understand
much of Shakespeare save Romeo and
Juliet and the famous line of Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be…” upon his
contemplation of killing King Claudius.
Thank God for the PETA
(Philippine Educational Theater Association) play “William.” It was Shakespeare’s
works de-mystified to young audiences through the characters’ own experiences
themselves.
The play was launched at the
Star Theater, Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, on June 28, this year. It will have its official run in the same venue come January 31, 2014, February 1, 2, 7, 9 and 14 and 16 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
The rap made the play more
enjoying to watch. The style fit the young viewers generation-- made contemporary and fun by the comedic
lines and perfectly choreographed dances. It must be hard to write a script as
witty as that of William’s.
Shakespeare’s poems are life
itself, but his work requires careful reading and introspection.
Shylock’s
“Hath not a Jew eyes…” – and Juliet’s
line: “What’s in a name that which we call a rose by any other name would smell
as sweet…” In these lines, you see and
feel the genius at his most brilliant.
PETA
did just that-- (I was, at the moment-- while
watching, was carried back to the Elizabethan time) and translated
one of the hardest classic authors for ordinary people like me.
Hat
off.
