Beckett vs. Shakespeare

When you pit two of theaters unparalleled geniuses against each other on the same subject matter (subjugation of the female) in two plays that were written nearly 350 years apart, the differences are striking for the performer.

A Winter's Tale contains the most famous stage direction in all of Shakespeare ("Exit, pursued by a bear."), and the climax (excerpted below) involves a female statue coming to life. By Shakespeare's standards, that's a heap o' stage directions!

Happy Days opens on a woman buried up to her waste, and closes with her buried up to her neck. As strikingly similar as Hermione and Winnie's plights are as women (both frozen in time and place by their duties as wives), as theatrical roles, they are worlds apart, almost complete opposites.

Beckett writes nearly 16 words of stage directions for the poor actress who plays Winnie to every 1 word of dialog.

Shakespeare's ratio is the inverse.

The challenges of mastering Shakespeare's verse are just as daunting as those of mastering Beckett's directions. When Fiona Shaw set to crafting her unforgettable portrayal of Winnie, her first reaction to Beckett's play was of horror, "All those stage directions — it made my blood boil. It seems like linguistic fascism or something."

Is there a parallel in music? Now let's see, what two composers would we possibly pit against each other in a similar fashion? (Regular readers of this blog will surely know!)

SAMUEL BECKETT, HAPPY DAYS
[Ratio of words to stage directions, 1:16]

Expanse of scorched grass rising center to low mound. Gentle slopes down to front and either side of stage. Back an abrupter fall to stage level. Maximum of simplicity and symmetry.

Blazing light.

Very pompier trompe-l'oeil backcloth to represent unbroken plain and sky receding to meet in far distance.

Imbedded up to above her waist in exact centre of mound, WINNIE. About fifty, well preserved, blond for preference, plump, arms and shoulders bare, low bodice, big bosom, pearl necklet. She is discovered sleeping, her arms on the ground before her, her head on her arms.

Beside her on ground to her left a capacious black bag, shopping variety, and to her right a collapsible collapsed parasol, beak of handle emerging from sheath.

To her right and rear, lying asleep on ground, hidden by mound, WILLIE.

Long pause. A bell rings piercingly, say ten seconds, stops. She does not move. Pause. Bell more piercingly, say five seconds. She wakes. Bell stops. She raises her head, gazes front. Long pause. She straightens up, lays her hands flat on ground, throws back her head and gazes at zenith. Long pause.

WINNIE: (gazing at zenith). Another heavenly day. (Pause. Head back level, eyes front, pause. She clasps hands to breast, closes eyes. Lips move in inaudible prayer, say ten seconds. Lips still. Hands remain clasped. Low.) For Jesus Christ sake Amen. (Eyes open, hands unclasp, return to mound. Pause. She clasps hands to breast again, closes eyes, lips move again in inaudible addendum, say five seconds. Low.) Begin, Winnie. (Pause.) Begin your day, Winnie. (pause. She turns to bag, rummages in it without moving it from its place, brings out toothbrush, rummages again, brings out flat tube of toothpaste, turns back front, unscrews cap of tube, lays cap on ground, squeezes with difficulty small blog of paste on brush, holds tube in one hand and brushes teeth with other. She turns modestly aside and back to her right to spit out behind mound. In this position her eyes rest on WILLIE. She spits out. She cranes a little further back and down. Loud.) Hoo-oo! (Pause. Louder.) Hoo-oo! (Pause. Tender smile as she turns back front, lays down brush.) Poor Willie - (examines tube, smile off) - running out - (looks for cap) - ah well - (finds cap) - can't be helped...

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, A WINTER'S TALE
[Ratio of words to stage directions - 15:1]

PAULINA
As she lived peerless,
So her dead likeness, I do well believe,
Excels whatever yet you look'd upon
Or hand of man hath done; therefore I keep it
Lonely, apart. But here it is: prepare
To see the life as lively mock'd as ever
Still sleep mock'd death: behold, and say 'tis well.

PAULINA draws a curtain, and discovers HERMIONE standing like a statue

I like your silence, it the more shows off
Your wonder: but yet speak; first, you, my liege,
Comes it not something near?...

...Music, awake her; strike!

Music

'Tis time; descend; be stone no more; approach;
Strike all that look upon with marvel. Come,
I'll fill your grave up: stir, nay, come away,
Bequeath to death your numbness, for from him
Dear life redeems you. You perceive she stirs:

HERMIONE comes down

Start not; her actions shall be holy as
You hear my spell is lawful: do not shun her
Until you see her die again; for then
You kill her double. Nay, present your hand:
When she was young you woo'd her; now in age
Is she become the suitor?

LEONTES
O, she's warm!
If this be magic, let it be an art
Lawful as eating...