Not really.... but I went to see a terrific Gujarati production of All's Well That Ends Well. It was part of the Globe to Globe season at the Shakespeare Festival where all 37 of Shakespeare's plays are put on in different languages.
Why did it seem a strange thing to do – to go to the Globe Theatre to see the most quintessentially english playwright performed in another tongue? I can't think why, because Shakespeare's tales are so brilliant and convoluted and this production buzzed with all the drama and theatricality of India. Just the language was different.
This was the first appearance of the Arpana theatre company in England and this production was only on for two nights – they all are. Arpana brought an irresistible energy to the play with lots of singing and dancing. It was boiling hot and the audience were largely indian and not in need of the (very spare) sub-titles. We missed a lot of the subtleties of what was said (which was fair enough) judging by the audience's hysterical laughter. It didn't matter.
The season's nearly over and I am looking forward to an english language version of Henry V which rounds off Globe to Globe.. and wonder if there are still any tickets for Hamlet in Lithuanian..
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