The Harlesden Actors In Shakespeare's Works

From expressing my lines to understanding what they meant, my Shakespeare experience was very similar to that of the Harlesden actors. One of the problematic experiences of preparing to perform Shakespeare was expressing my lines with emotions. Not only was this a problem for me, but it was also a problem for the Harlesden actors. Another problem was being able to understand Shakespeare’s writings. Shakespeare did not write the same way that we do today, so his writings were very difficult to comprehend. The Harlesden actors experienced this issue as well. First, expressing my lines with emotions was difficult because I had to act like someone that I am nothing like, Tybalt, who is very aggressive and quarrelsome. He is always looking for a way to start a fight. However, my character traits are different. I would never want to start a fight and I am not quarrelsome. Therefore, acting as Tybalt was very difficult for me. Some of the
For instance, in one of Tybalt’s lines, Shakespeare writes “You shall find me apt enough to that, sir, and you will give me occasion.” Barely anyone in modern day society would even come close to being able to understand this line. The actors in the Harlesden performance were also having the same issue. Some people thought that “Romeo, O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo” meant “Where are you Romeo?” It actually means “Why are you Romeo.” This problem was fixed in my class by reading the entire play and stopping in between every scene to analyze and comprehend what Shakespeare was writing. In the Harlesden, they did something similar. They all sat at a table and read the whole play and the director explained what each line meant. I can use the interpretations of the Harlesden actors to help me improve my performance. Moreover, this really helped me say my lines, since it is a lot easier to say something that you understand rather than just saying