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Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Oct. 19, 2015 at 7:36 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Oct. 19, 2015 at 7:36 PM » Social News Would we rather hear “wherefore art thou, Romeo?” Or would we be more engaged with Shakespeare if we heard “why do you have to be who you are?” Let’s face it: there is a gulf of understanding about what the actors are saying and who is doing what in the long Shakespeare plays — and it does take a good bit of study and discussion to grasp the spirit and meaning of the Early Modern English of four centuries ago. To bridge this gap and to deepen the understanding of theater-goers — but NOT replace the Bard’s classic works! — the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has set upon the daunting and controversial task of rewriting the entire 39-play canon into modern English. A seven-figure grant from the Hitz Foundation will fund the project over three years and bring the English-speaking world to the place of other countries, which, as OSF Artistic Director Bill Rauch points out, enjoy Shakespeare in their modern, not Medieval tongue. Predictably, there has been blowback, with no less than an op-ed piece in the New York Times complaining it’s a “disturbing precedent” that many theaters will find hard to resist. OSF, in its FAQ, was quick to reassure theater-goers that it will not be replacing classic Bard with modern Bard: “Absolutely not. We view these translated texts as complementary, as companion pieces for Shakespeare’s original texts, not as replacements. Even when the translations get performed on their own, we expect and hope they will inspire audience members to return to Shakespeare’s original texts, ideally with much greater understanding and enjoyment." We asked Ashlanders if they thought it was a good idea or a bad one. “Megan” – (declined photo) I’m a traditionalist. I appreciate having the plays more understandable, but they also need to be kept in the spirit in which they were written. I heard that with “Much Ado About Nothing” (staged in modern English), that they took liberties with the content and made some vulgarities. Myself, I understand the old English. My husband doesn’t. Martha Hoffmeister — It’s good for some people, but others still enjoy the original language. I can understand it. Shaun Garner — I would like to see it on some Shakespeare plays, not all. It might be interesting to do one play both ways and see the contrast. I wouldn’t want to see them all in modern English. We like Shakespeare’s language. We know what it sounded like now because of the way it’s spelled. You get clues from how it’s spoken in remote villages. On YouTube, you can see theater historians talk about it. It’s fascinating. Eddie Crouch — I haven’t seen them, but I heard people say they like them. I’m not a big Shakespeare person. I probably prefer the old language. Katharine Lang — Personally, I think it’s a good idea because I don’t understand the old English very well. I know it’s sacred to a lot of people. Your ear adjusts to it as the play goes on, but still. It’s like when the Bible was translated to modern English so more people could relate. They should do it in the old and new, though many purists just want the original. When I saw “Much Ado,” it was more engaging and funny. I got the gist and understood the story better because I could understand what the hell they were talking about. I took my mother, who is a purist and she loved it. We didn’t say a thing about it being in modern language. I did notice the vulgarity. It didn’t bother me. Shakespeare was that way also. My husband stopped going to Shakespeare because of the old language and also the increasing expense. He didn’t know what was going on and fell asleep. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Oct. 19, 2015 at 7:36 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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