In this scene from the film Vincent (Alexander Barnett) and Gauguin (Lee Godart) battle for the last time.
February 11, 2009
January 20, 2009
Thoughts on directing Macbeth
Classic Theatre International, which I founded, was an American company dedicated to performing Shakespeare and contemporary classics throughout the world. One of those productions was Macbeth.
We interpreted Macbeth as an in-depth study of fear and tyranny and as one of Shakespeare’s most brutal and savage plays. Our Macbeth does not enter from battle as a finely-robed, unmarked general who has the sophisticated soul of a poet, but rather as a bloodied, scarred, intrepid, unsurpassed gladiator. Macbeth’s imagery expresses his subconscious mind but that in no way makes him a poet. Neither is he a victim of circumstances or a man whose fate is determined by supernatural influences or an overbearing wife. He is one of those people who would love to enjoy the fruits of treachery without having had to commit the treachery, thereby retaining a clean conscience even as he reaps the results of evil. Macbeth knows what he wants and what he must do to get it.
The idea of killing Duncan occurs to him before he is confronted by the three sisters. He tells his wife of his desires because he knows that she will give him the emotional and moral support he most desperately needs in order to achieve them. Macbeth has no predisposition to murder, merely an inordinate ambition and a lust for power that make murder itself seem a lesser evil than a failure to secure the crown. After he commits the murder it is fear, not guilt that infects Macbeth’s dreams and causes his intense paranoia.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are devoid of pathos and tenderness. They are not innocent sufferers but self-corrupted and guilty workers of horror. They do not command our affection or our sympathy, but we should be riveted, astounded and overwhelmed by their passion, brutality and determination. Above all they are human beings and not unreal monsters or evil incarnate. In Macbeth there are no neutral characters. Every person opposes, allows or encourages the tyranny unleashed by Macbeth. We do not treat the witches as supernatural beings but as the outward manifestation of Macbeth’s inner struggles and desires. Macbeth’s inner struggle and turmoil are expressed literally and theatrically.
I trained the company not to treat poetry as a strange, peculiar or awkward form of speech but as an absolutely natural and necessary way of expressing the highest and most profound thoughts in the most precise and perfect way possible. We tried to combine the perfect blending of the cerebral and the emotional; the thinking heart as Victor Hugo called it. This, plus a reverence for clarity and form, overcame much of the language barrier we encountered.
Our goal was not to perform only once in a city but to return year after year with the purpose of enriching all our lives. I firmly believe that there is a universal language that can be expressed through the correct combination and execution of text, mind, voice and body.
We interpreted Macbeth as an in-depth study of fear and tyranny and as one of Shakespeare’s most brutal and savage plays. Our Macbeth does not enter from battle as a finely-robed, unmarked general who has the sophisticated soul of a poet, but rather as a bloodied, scarred, intrepid, unsurpassed gladiator. Macbeth’s imagery expresses his subconscious mind but that in no way makes him a poet. Neither is he a victim of circumstances or a man whose fate is determined by supernatural influences or an overbearing wife. He is one of those people who would love to enjoy the fruits of treachery without having had to commit the treachery, thereby retaining a clean conscience even as he reaps the results of evil. Macbeth knows what he wants and what he must do to get it.
The idea of killing Duncan occurs to him before he is confronted by the three sisters. He tells his wife of his desires because he knows that she will give him the emotional and moral support he most desperately needs in order to achieve them. Macbeth has no predisposition to murder, merely an inordinate ambition and a lust for power that make murder itself seem a lesser evil than a failure to secure the crown. After he commits the murder it is fear, not guilt that infects Macbeth’s dreams and causes his intense paranoia.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are devoid of pathos and tenderness. They are not innocent sufferers but self-corrupted and guilty workers of horror. They do not command our affection or our sympathy, but we should be riveted, astounded and overwhelmed by their passion, brutality and determination. Above all they are human beings and not unreal monsters or evil incarnate. In Macbeth there are no neutral characters. Every person opposes, allows or encourages the tyranny unleashed by Macbeth. We do not treat the witches as supernatural beings but as the outward manifestation of Macbeth’s inner struggles and desires. Macbeth’s inner struggle and turmoil are expressed literally and theatrically.
I trained the company not to treat poetry as a strange, peculiar or awkward form of speech but as an absolutely natural and necessary way of expressing the highest and most profound thoughts in the most precise and perfect way possible. We tried to combine the perfect blending of the cerebral and the emotional; the thinking heart as Victor Hugo called it. This, plus a reverence for clarity and form, overcame much of the language barrier we encountered.
Our goal was not to perform only once in a city but to return year after year with the purpose of enriching all our lives. I firmly believe that there is a universal language that can be expressed through the correct combination and execution of text, mind, voice and body.
Thematic Structure of my Production of Othello
The production of Othello that I directed for Classic Theatre International was stark, brutal and
unsentimental. We interpret it as a sixteenth century horror story that, tragically, is incredibly more than applicable in our modern world. In this production the tragedy is not in the downfall of a great man but rather in the cold-blooded murder of two marvelous and heroic women, Desdemona and Emilia. We view the production from a woman’s as well as a man’s point of view. We show the results of a male-dominated society where vanity, ego and appearance dominate rational and logical considerations and where women are treated as property and second-class citizens. It is a stinging indictment of the warrior mentality of Othello and the analytical yet maniacal and inhuman mentality of Iago.
We see Othello not as great man but rather as a very flawed individual who happens to be an outstanding warrior. Self-delusion is at the core of his character. His greatest flaws are his refusal to face the reality of his nature and his firm belief that he has the right to be judge, jury and executioner. Watching him we learn the importance of humility, of constantly questioning our motives, of knowing and admitting our weaknesses and failures and of constantly striving to improve ourselves. We are also reminded that no one except a legally appointed person, operating within the framework of a humanistic and ethical code, has the right to pass sentence on another human being. 
unsentimental. We interpret it as a sixteenth century horror story that, tragically, is incredibly more than applicable in our modern world. In this production the tragedy is not in the downfall of a great man but rather in the cold-blooded murder of two marvelous and heroic women, Desdemona and Emilia. We view the production from a woman’s as well as a man’s point of view. We show the results of a male-dominated society where vanity, ego and appearance dominate rational and logical considerations and where women are treated as property and second-class citizens. It is a stinging indictment of the warrior mentality of Othello and the analytical yet maniacal and inhuman mentality of Iago.
We see Othello not as great man but rather as a very flawed individual who happens to be an outstanding warrior. Self-delusion is at the core of his character. His greatest flaws are his refusal to face the reality of his nature and his firm belief that he has the right to be judge, jury and executioner. Watching him we learn the importance of humility, of constantly questioning our motives, of knowing and admitting our weaknesses and failures and of constantly striving to improve ourselves. We are also reminded that no one except a legally appointed person, operating within the framework of a humanistic and ethical code, has the right to pass sentence on another human being. 
In regard to Iago - unlike the standard portrayal of a dispassionate, unmotivated and coldly objective creature we see an obsessive, irrational, subjective, compulsive, reckless, maniacal paranoid who is overwhelmed with hatred and yet has the incredible ability to present to the world an entirely different personality. He literally thrives on danger and excitement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix9ZEy-ndvE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix9ZEy-ndvE
January 16, 2009
Themes in King Lear
KING LEAR is Shakespeare’s greatest play and very likely the greatest work of literature ever written. Its themes are of the most profound nature. What is the ultimate power that moves the universe? What is the meaning of justice? What motivates man to be evil or good?
The play takes place in 800 B.C. King Lear has led Britain for sixty years. During his reign he has created a fantasy land not founded on truth. He is blind to what is really around him. He is a man of vast potential; a man of enormous passion, humanity, dignity and strength who has been inundated with lies, flattery unchallenged obedience and false adoration. He who most needed and demanded truth, he whose inner being was so honest, trusting and ethical learned to compromise his integrity, thriving on lies while his subconscious, his essence, has been devastated. He has denied himself his most important need: self-realization.
When the play opens, Lear’s psychological state is such that he is often incapable of controlling his strongest emotions. He is aware of this lack of control. Even as he indulges it he fears the consequences Lear has always been a man of lowering passion but had the incredible mind and will to match it. Now, however, his purpose and control have been eroded by his increasingly irrational emotional state.
Lear’s madness is not the result of evil or unjust actions, but that his actions belie his essence. Emotionally induced madness is brought on by an overwhelming accumulation of lies that the subconscious rebels against. The manifestation of madness is the body and mind’s defense against total physical destruction. Immoral actions do not induce madness in those whose essence condones them. Witness the unethical characters in KING LEAR who rarely lose their equanimity and are always objectively aware of what they are doing.
Edmund,
the bastard son of Gloucester, knows exactly what he wants and is willing to do anything to get it. He is not immoral but amoral. He will be anything and do anything to achieve his nefarious end. He has an uncanny ability to encourage people to be what they are arid to express themselves fully. Then he uses this knowledge to destroy them. He radiates concern and empathy, and always for his own malevolent purposes.
Goneril, Lear’s eldest daughter, trusts no one, anticipating chicanery and duplicity from everyone she deals with. She believes that there are two kinds of people, those who will kill and destroy to achieve their goals and those who won’t, simply because they lack the courage. To the extent that she practices evil is the extent to which she sees and anticipates it in others. No sooner is she given new power than she is already afraid of losing it. No moment in her life is savored or enjoyed, no victory brings satisfaction. In effect, every gain in her life is a loss because it creates a new problem. She is not defeated because of complacency, but because she sees everything as a potential threat and so she continually strikes out and finally overreaches.
Cornwall, husband of Regan, is an excellent study of a purely sadistic brutal and vicious character. He is hot-tempered, ambitious, cowardly, ruthless and arrogant. He is a born dictator with a rigid code by which he judges others, but he considers himself sacrosanct. He believes that he who has the ability or good fortune to achieve power automatically has the right to use it any way he deems fit. Unlike Edmund, he is not amoral. He does have a code and rules by which he lives. He is a religious man. He believes that if one achieves power on his own it results in a divine authority and that if one inherits power (as he has) it demonstrates God’s recognition of this authority.
Goneril’s sister Regan is an insidious, vicious, mean-tempered woman who unlike Goneril has always given the appearance of being docile and even sweet. This stems from a certain diffidence and a basically quieter nature which in no way makes her morally superior. Both sisters view everything in terms of themselves and how it relates to them. Nothing else is important. Nothing else means anything. When any of these evil characters taste blood they seem to become infected by it. But it is not the taste of blood that is the catalyst, but the desire to taste it.
Cordelia and Kent are outstanding studies of the virtuous and ethical nature. They are impulsive, emotional and loyal creatures who can neither lie to themselves or others. Since they are so totally discerning and selective, their devotion to Lear tells us a great deal about his ultimate worth.
Gloucester, father to Edmund and Edgar, is an undiscerning, selfish, credulous and superstitious
man. He is opinionated and cynical and is constantly seeking re-affirmation of his cynicism. While Lear seeks confirmation of love and trust, Gloucester seeks the opposite. He is a kind and decent man with a weak, impressionable nature. It is his nature to be acted upon and led by stronger personalities. When the events and people who influence him are decent and moral he acts accordingly, but when they are not he goes against his essence. Lear and Gloucester are both lied to, but this is secondary. What is paramount is that they, by accepting these lies as truth, have lied to themselves. They knew better but did not act on their knowledge.
The play takes place in 800 B.C. King Lear has led Britain for sixty years. During his reign he has created a fantasy land not founded on truth. He is blind to what is really around him. He is a man of vast potential; a man of enormous passion, humanity, dignity and strength who has been inundated with lies, flattery unchallenged obedience and false adoration. He who most needed and demanded truth, he whose inner being was so honest, trusting and ethical learned to compromise his integrity, thriving on lies while his subconscious, his essence, has been devastated. He has denied himself his most important need: self-realization.
When the play opens, Lear’s psychological state is such that he is often incapable of controlling his strongest emotions. He is aware of this lack of control. Even as he indulges it he fears the consequences Lear has always been a man of lowering passion but had the incredible mind and will to match it. Now, however, his purpose and control have been eroded by his increasingly irrational emotional state.
Lear’s madness is not the result of evil or unjust actions, but that his actions belie his essence. Emotionally induced madness is brought on by an overwhelming accumulation of lies that the subconscious rebels against. The manifestation of madness is the body and mind’s defense against total physical destruction. Immoral actions do not induce madness in those whose essence condones them. Witness the unethical characters in KING LEAR who rarely lose their equanimity and are always objectively aware of what they are doing.
Edmund,
the bastard son of Gloucester, knows exactly what he wants and is willing to do anything to get it. He is not immoral but amoral. He will be anything and do anything to achieve his nefarious end. He has an uncanny ability to encourage people to be what they are arid to express themselves fully. Then he uses this knowledge to destroy them. He radiates concern and empathy, and always for his own malevolent purposes.Goneril, Lear’s eldest daughter, trusts no one, anticipating chicanery and duplicity from everyone she deals with. She believes that there are two kinds of people, those who will kill and destroy to achieve their goals and those who won’t, simply because they lack the courage. To the extent that she practices evil is the extent to which she sees and anticipates it in others. No sooner is she given new power than she is already afraid of losing it. No moment in her life is savored or enjoyed, no victory brings satisfaction. In effect, every gain in her life is a loss because it creates a new problem. She is not defeated because of complacency, but because she sees everything as a potential threat and so she continually strikes out and finally overreaches.
Cornwall, husband of Regan, is an excellent study of a purely sadistic brutal and vicious character. He is hot-tempered, ambitious, cowardly, ruthless and arrogant. He is a born dictator with a rigid code by which he judges others, but he considers himself sacrosanct. He believes that he who has the ability or good fortune to achieve power automatically has the right to use it any way he deems fit. Unlike Edmund, he is not amoral. He does have a code and rules by which he lives. He is a religious man. He believes that if one achieves power on his own it results in a divine authority and that if one inherits power (as he has) it demonstrates God’s recognition of this authority.
Goneril’s sister Regan is an insidious, vicious, mean-tempered woman who unlike Goneril has always given the appearance of being docile and even sweet. This stems from a certain diffidence and a basically quieter nature which in no way makes her morally superior. Both sisters view everything in terms of themselves and how it relates to them. Nothing else is important. Nothing else means anything. When any of these evil characters taste blood they seem to become infected by it. But it is not the taste of blood that is the catalyst, but the desire to taste it.
Cordelia and Kent are outstanding studies of the virtuous and ethical nature. They are impulsive, emotional and loyal creatures who can neither lie to themselves or others. Since they are so totally discerning and selective, their devotion to Lear tells us a great deal about his ultimate worth.
Gloucester, father to Edmund and Edgar, is an undiscerning, selfish, credulous and superstitious
man. He is opinionated and cynical and is constantly seeking re-affirmation of his cynicism. While Lear seeks confirmation of love and trust, Gloucester seeks the opposite. He is a kind and decent man with a weak, impressionable nature. It is his nature to be acted upon and led by stronger personalities. When the events and people who influence him are decent and moral he acts accordingly, but when they are not he goes against his essence. Lear and Gloucester are both lied to, but this is secondary. What is paramount is that they, by accepting these lies as truth, have lied to themselves. They knew better but did not act on their knowledge.January 11, 2009
New Website
My new website www.alexanderbarnett.com is now published. I hope you'll visit. There will be new updates frequently.
December 29, 2008
Pre-production thoughts on my upcoming film of King Lear.
King Lear is Shakespeare's greatest play and very likely the greatest work in all of literature. Its themes are of the most profound nature: redemption; self-realization; the myth of universal justice; fortuitousness in the battle between good and evil; the nature of evil.
The 80-year old Lear has been King for many decades. During his reign he has slowly and inexorably become blind to reality. He is a man of vast potential; a man of enormous passion, humanity, dignity and strength who has been inundated with lies, flattery, unchallenged obedience and false adoration.
When the play opens, Lear's psychological state is such that he is often incapable of controlling his strongest emotions. Lear has always been a man of towering passion, but had the incredible mind and will to match it. Now, however, his purpose and control have been eroded by his increasingly irrational emotional state.
In any production of King Lear, we must see the lion in Lear and his raging battle between his age and failing mind. T here must be a constant struggle between the Lear of old and the present Lear. If we don't see the towering Lear we're left with the ill, debilitated, sorrowful Lear and the conflict is gone - we never see his basic nature, which is the cause of decline. What make him so fascinating and exciting are his tremendous extremes of temperament. First and foremost he must always be a fighter and never give in to adversity. This is a man who fights an epic and magnificent struggle against overwhelming physical and emotional turmoil and whose implacable refusal to surrender makes him one of the greatest, most towering and passionate tragic characters ever created.
And the most difficult portrayal in the entire Shakespearean canon. The actor portraying Lear can't drive the torment, confusion and bewilderment that emanates from Lear – they must drive him. No amount of brilliant faking will work. I t's either real or not. We must see the torment.
Gloucester is an undiscerning, selfish, credulous and superstitious man. He is basically decent, but with a weak, impressionable nature. The portrayal must allow for catharsis is impossible. Edgar, Gloucester's legitimate son, is a totally trusting, inexperienced and ingenuous soul who has vast, untapped potential. He goes through an incredible process of development and maturity. Edmund, Gloucester's bastard son is willing to do anything to achieve his nefarious ends. He is not immoral, but amoral. He has the uncanny ability to unleash each woman's full sexual potential. This, plus his physical attractiveness, his feigned but convincing warmth and concern, his self-confidence and sense of humor make him an ideal, consummate lover. With the obvious obsession that Goneril and Regan have for Edmund, nothing less will suffice. He must have the charm, confidence, fearlessness, dominance and supreme ability to dupe others. Albany, Goneril's husband, is a decent, sensitive, ethical and intelligent man who prefers to avoid altercation and acrimony, but should possess both appeal and perception. Cordelia is not a sweet, frail, delicate ingénue. If she were, Lear would never favor her. She is, rather, much like Lear: resolute, dignified, proud, outspoken and fearless. This is why Lear adores her. Indeed, she must match Regan and Goneril in strength and tenacity. It must be conceivable to imagine Cordelia’s leading an army to rescue her father. The Fool should be a creature of nature. Pure instinct. Spontaneous, unpredictable and uncontrollable.
Ultimately, Lear, the 80-year old with the heart of a gladiator, should arouse in us, not tears, primarily, but awe that such a man could exist.
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