Memo to head of Shakespeare’s Globe: The Bard beats The Archers

Emma Rice is wrong to think reading Shakespeare makes you sleepy

Shakespeare or soaps? Emma Rice, the new artistic director of the Globe. Sarah Lee/GLOBE THEATRE

How I would love to be a fly on the wall when the board of Shakespeare’s Globe conducts interviews for artistic directors.

The first one, of course, was Mark Rylance, who presumably told the board of his firm belief that the plays weren’t written by Shakespeare at all. That must have caused eyes to widen, you’d think. But thankfully the board still appointed Rylance, and he proved an inspired and inspiring choice.

Now we have Emma Rice formerly of the marvellously innovative theatre company Kneehigh. In her opening press conference she has said a couple of startling things. First, she said that she would be staging Cymbeline from the female lead’s perspective and rename it Imogen accordingly. One reason, she says, is that Imogen has many more lines that Cymbeline himself. This is a risky precedent, as it might demand a good deal of renaming. Julius Caesar, for one, has considerably fewer lines than other characters in the play that carries his name.

But my eyebrows, if not those of the board, were raised by another comment from Ms Rice. She said of Shakespeare: “I have tried to sit down and read his plays, but it doesn’t work. I get very sleepy and then want to listen to The Archers.”

Did she say this at her interview? Did it lead to an enthralling round-table discussion of life in Ambridge? I suppose that in a way Ms Rice is alluding to a view that has been current for some years, namely that the plays were written to be performed and have to be seen rather than read. I don’t totally agree, I think many of the plays lend themselves to reading, and I and many millions of others have found that reading them can be very rewarding. The poetry, imagery, and power and emotion of the language repay closer study than you can sometimes get viewing a performance.

Ms Rice clearly isn’t of that view, and no doubt there’s a legitimate academic debate to be had. But I still worry at hearing the head of Shakespeare’s Globe say that reading the plays sends her to sleep. If I went for an interview on a national paper and said I found that paper invaluable as a cure for insomnia, I’m not sure I’d get the job. Equally, I find it odd that someone who can’t stay awake on reading the works of Shakespeare is driven to be the head of an institution dedicated to him and his plays. I guess that producer of The Archers was already taken.

Actually, I’m a big fan of Emma Rice. Her work with Kneehigh was astonishing. And she will probably make her time at the Globe memorable for us all. But saying what she said sends out a wrong and potentially dangerous message. As head of Shakespeare’s Globe, she is the key spokeswoman on Shakespeare, whether she wants to be or not. I want her to send the message to a generation of schoolchildren that the Bard not only has to be seen on stage, but is also fascinating to read, both at home and at school. She could add that not only will Shakespeare enrich their lives, but when he’s really on form, he’s even better than The Archers.

David Bowie’s importance to gay teenagers was crucial

I was pleased to see the singer and DJ Tom Robinson on BBC’s Newsnight following David Bowie’s death, stressing how important Bowie was to a young generation of gay people, who found music they could identify with and a persona that could make them more confident about their sexuality and lifestyle. Bowie’s importance in this regard should not be underestimated. It’s hard to think of any of the sixties superstars, Beatles, Stones, Dylan, saying much if anything about gay rights during the sixties, or consciously reaching out to that audience. It’s one of the many things we should remember and thank Bowie for.

The way for Ed Vaizey to make his mark

Ed Vaizey this week became Britain’s longest serving arts minister, beating the record of Jennie Lee in the Sixties. Vaizey has completed nearly six years in the post, which is quite a feat, but he’s a long way off equalling the achievements of Ms Lee, who was key to the establishment of the Open University under Harold Wilson’s premiership. How to be remembered for posterity, Ed? Perhaps be the arts minister who legislates for the abolition of booking fees?

d.lister@independent.co.uk. Twitter:davidlister1