Amanda Chesterton wrote: > > However, there were a few disturbing and repeated > mis-pronunciations that I feel must be noted: > > 'doth' and 'troth' - neither of these words should rhyme with > 'broth'. 'Doth', if we're speaking phonetically is > pronounced 'duth' and 'throth' should rhyme with 'growth'. > > 'e'er' - is a truncated version of 'ever' and is accordingly > pronounced 'air'. Occaisionally it was correctly pronounced > but there were several 'ears' on stage. > > 'demesnes' - is, quite simply, DOMAINS, not de-mez-knees > > 'withal' - as a friend who saw the show with me said, 'Who's > Al?' Pronunciation is 'with-all' not 'with-Al'. > > 'Zounds' - short for 'God's wounds' and should be pronounced > 'zoonds' not 'zownds'. > > Call me anal, and believe me no one knows that better than I, > but Shakespeare is, above all, language driven (back me up > here, Malone), and I wasn't the only person twitching > slightly with each mispronunciation. They disrupted an > otherwise polished production.
I am quoting Amanda's review of the Curtin Uni 'R & J', of a month or so ago, to which I responded that I hoped these problems would be solved, seeing as the same director was to be in charge of the King's Park professional production.
I've not yet seen the Park production, but I have it on good authority that a lot of the same mangling of the language occurred, and rather spoilt some of the show for those people who take notice of such things.
I don't claim to be any authority on Shakespeare, but I would find it very easy to consult with people who ARE. Granted, there are a lot of people who go to the Park productions who know or care very little about the language, and so enjoy the show regardless. But being Shakespeare, there are obviously many who will attend with a good grasp of what's going on, and it seems rather silly to earn their disdain when it's a problem that could have been solved a long time ago with fairly little effort.
Hoping to go and judge with my own ears this week.
Cheers, Craig
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Date: 22/12/2002 - 13:36
Amanda Chesterton wrote:
>
> However, there were a few disturbing and repeated
> mis-pronunciations that I feel must be noted:
>
> 'doth' and 'troth' - neither of these words should rhyme with
> 'broth'. 'Doth', if we're speaking phonetically is
> pronounced 'duth' and 'throth' should rhyme with 'growth'.
>
> 'e'er' - is a truncated version of 'ever' and is accordingly
> pronounced 'air'. Occaisionally it was correctly pronounced
> but there were several 'ears' on stage.
>
> 'demesnes' - is, quite simply, DOMAINS, not de-mez-knees
>
> 'withal' - as a friend who saw the show with me said, 'Who's
> Al?' Pronunciation is 'with-all' not 'with-Al'.
>
> 'Zounds' - short for 'God's wounds' and should be pronounced
> 'zoonds' not 'zownds'.
>
> Call me anal, and believe me no one knows that better than I,
> but Shakespeare is, above all, language driven (back me up
> here, Malone), and I wasn't the only person twitching
> slightly with each mispronunciation. They disrupted an
> otherwise polished production.
I am quoting Amanda's review of the Curtin Uni 'R & J', of a month or so ago, to which I responded that I hoped these problems would be solved, seeing as the same director was to be in charge of the King's Park professional production.
I've not yet seen the Park production, but I have it on good authority that a lot of the same mangling of the language occurred, and rather spoilt some of the show for those people who take notice of such things.
I don't claim to be any authority on Shakespeare, but I would find it very easy to consult with people who ARE. Granted, there are a lot of people who go to the Park productions who know or care very little about the language, and so enjoy the show regardless. But being Shakespeare, there are obviously many who will attend with a good grasp of what's going on, and it seems rather silly to earn their disdain when it's a problem that could have been solved a long time ago with fairly little effort.
Hoping to go and judge with my own ears this week.
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]