シェイクスピアの「女方」はグロテスクか

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書誌事項

タイトル別名
  • Are Shakespearean Onnagata Grotesque?
  • シェイクスピア ノ オンナガタ ワ グロテスク カ

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抄録

Shakespearean onnagata "female impersonators" disappeared from the London stage in the 1660s. Recently, some attempts have been made to revive them in modern Shakespeare productions, but many directors, actors and audiences have doubts about whether this is appropriate. Modern realism and psychological interpretation would suggest that it is unnatural and abnormal for a male actor to play a female role. Unless women perform female roles, they cannot be beautiful, charming and true to life. The recent revival of English female impersonators in Shakespeare's plays has generally been met with such prejudice and scepticism, although admittedly there have been some exceptions, such as Mark Rylance's Olivia in Twelfth Night performed at Middle Temple Hall and Shakespeare's Globe. He had been influenced by Kabuki onnagata, and gave a portrayal of Olivia that was superb in every respect. The modern prejudice against Shakespearean onnagata is mostly derived from the fact that they ignore reality and that early modern drama in the Shakespeare era was more dynamic and free from modern realism. The actors and the audiences shared a dramatic space of rich imagination created by powerful words. Shakespeare wrote plays for the actors in his company, including female impersonators. If they had been poor actors and plain in appearance, he could not have written roles such as Cleopatra or Lady Macbeth for them. It seems very difficult to revive the lost tradition of Shakespearean female impersonators on the modern British stage, in spite of the efforts of some actors. However, if serious attempts are made, it may be possible to rediscover other aspects of the female characters and the significance of texts that have been overlooked in interpretations based on modern realism or psychological analyses. Study of Kabuki's beautiful onnagata may be of great value for Shakespearean actors, allowing them to rediscover forgotten aspects of Shakespeare's original stage productions and texts.

収録刊行物

  • 英米文化

    英米文化 35 (0), 5-21, 2005

    英米文化学会

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