What would the world be like?

[Leslie Mary S]

Just a little humor:



What would the world be like if the world had stuck to the Shakespearean Globe Theater
concept of all parts played by male performers?

Would there be a theater called "The Cube" where all parts are performed by Females?

In a pyramid shaped or dome shaped theater where are the best seats?

My answer is inside.

[Crystal120]

Those are points to ponder.

[RADER]

Interesting concept.

[Claire M]

Just before COVID, our local library had put on a Drag Queen Story Hour. A few days later, I was at a men's group meeting at our church. I the general discussion, the library event came up. There were a few very conservative types in attendance. Since they knew nothing of the content of the stories presented at the library they expressed their disgust and concern with the effect on the children exposed to men dressed as women for the performance. Our parish priest calmed the waters by reminding them that the entire cast of all of Shakespeare's original plays were performed by men ... including Juliet and Lady Macbeth.

[Micki_Finn]

So… in essence you’re asking if it’s possible to achieve some sort of equality between sexes while maintaining a segregation thereof?

Or are you just asking what the world would be like if social values never changed from the time of Shakespeare? If that’s the case, no there would be no “women’s theatre” because women wouldn’t be allowed to act.

As for the third, you’d have to do the geometry but the optimal viewing would be somewhere in the middle, but in general nearly all the seats would be bad. That’s why we don’t make theatres in that shape.

[Leslie Mary S]

So? in essence you?re asking if it?s possible to achieve some sort of equality between sexes while maintaining a segregation thereof?

I asked you for your thoughts on the "what ifs""


Or are you just asking what the world would be like if social values never changed from the time of Shakespeare? If that?s the case, no there would be no ?women?s theater? because women wouldn?t be allowed to act.
I allowed for some social changes and woman wanting to see woman on a stage that is not controlled by the male dominated guilds.


As for the third, you?d have to do the geometry but the optimal viewing would be somewhere in the middle, but in general nearly all the seats would be bad. That?s why we don?t make theaters in that shape.

If all the seats are the same, there can not be "better" or "worse" seats.
In fact, there are dome theaters now. The reason we do it the way we do it is because most people want to see the performers faces.
That is why theater in the round has not been a great success. Even the big arenas set up the stage at one of the narrow ends so most of the spectators are facing the same general way and the performers don't have to play to the spectators sitting behind them..

[Shelly Preston]

Sadly as soon as you say

What would the world be like if the world had stuck to the Shakespearean Globe Theater
concept of all parts played by male performers?

This means nothing would change.

However you would get more of our community getting in to acting to dress up.

I saw nothing in you original post that implies moving forward with cultural issues

[GretchenM]

Leslie, I like "what-if" propositions, especially when it comes to history. One can do so much what we called in graduate school "mental masturbation" exploring the different pathways that might or might not occur and why certain paths are taken and others rejected or ignored. Or even go backwards sometimes. :Angry3:

I think it is sad that all performers back then were males; it was a time when women were viewed more as property than as loving companions. However, there was a movement in the 1600's that tried to liberate women that was not all that different from the one that succeeded and has continued to grow that arose 300 years later in the early 1900's. And it appears to be here to stay although it is still a battle.

Sadly in some parts of the world women still have no freedom and are not allowed to act on their own and make their own choices. In a figurative sense, women's rights are still limited for the most part in most of the world. In that sense it hasn't changed that much and Shelly's comment about a lack of cultural progress is definitely the case. It seems to be a two steps forward and one step back kind of progress.

[JulieC]

Female parts being played by male performers isn't a cause for social concern; at the time it was required by law. A man performing in such a role wasn't trying to express himself as a woman, but the character as a woman. That's a very, very different concept than a man expressing themselves as a woman. That's not anywhere near as socially acceptable. So, having all female parts played by male performers today wouldn't have any effect on the transgender world.

[docrobbysherry]

Here's a "what if" for u. What if everyone lived forever? Then, u could ask Shakespeare what he thot of your idea?:eek:

[Jane G]

We love our Shakespeare in this little oblong shaped house. Only two days since we were seated at the minack watching Twelfth Night. No walls on that theatre and some fine gender fluidity in the plot to boot.