Jeremy LaBuff, Performer and NAU Professor
Come explore the ancient world through the eyes of Shakespeare! Through a unique dialogue between theatrical performance and historical lecture, performers of Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival and NAU professor Jeremy LaBuff will explore how Shakespeare’s use of key figures and events from the distant past provides us with unexpected insights into ancient history and its role in shaping the modern world. You’ll see scenes from Antony and Cleopatra, incorporating the Egyptian theme of the Festival of Science, as well as a scene from Julius Caesar. Shakespeare highlights in these plays what he thought of the virtues of these societies. There is a clear difference between the stoic Roman and the lively Egyptians.
”But how did Shakespeare know about the worlds of ancient Rome and Egypt? And were his portrayals correct?
Interspersing the performance of each scene, Dr. LaBuff will contrast Elizabethan understandings of the ancient world with what we have learned about ancient civilizations, while also highlighting how popular beliefs about these civilizations continue to be influenced by Shakespeare’s vision.
To get a sense of how Shakespeare wants us to understand this much talked about woman Cleopatra, you’ll see an excerpt from Act 2, Scene 2 from Antony and Cleopatra. In this scene the character Enobarbus, a follower of Antony’s, tries to paint an appropriate picture of Cleopatra to his fellow Roman, Agrippa.
”Judge for yourself, if Enobarbus succeeds in this.
We’ll then discuss the ancient account from which Shakespeare derives this scene, written by the Roman-era Greek biographer Plutarch, exploring both Plutarch’s credibility and what Shakespeare changed from his source.
The next scene will be from Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2, in which you get to know the character of Antony in more detail. Both Antony and Brutus speak at the funeral of the newly assassinated Julius Caesar. Brutus, one of the assassins, convinces the crowd of the necessity of Caesar’s death. Antony has a slightly different objective and we’ll let you be the judge if he succeeds in what he does best: speak very eloquently and rhetorically. Again, Shakespeare relied on Plutarch to shape his understanding of Roman-ness in contrast to what he saw as a decadent and corrupting East.
Finally, you’ll get to see Shakespeare’s interpretation of Cleopatra’s death in Antony and Cleopatra, Act 5, Scene 2. You’ll get to see the well-informed and newly captured Cleopatra making decisions about her own fate, rather than Caesar parading her like a commoner in the streets. Let us know if Shakespeare succeeds in giving you the perfect ending to such a remarkable historical character! We’ll next look at what Plutarch has to say about this famous moment, examine scholarly theories about what actually happened, and what we can even know about the enigmatic and unforgettable person that was Cleopatra.
Join Professor Jeremy LaBuff and learn about ancient history’s unexpected insights through the eyes of William Shakespeare with “Ancient Civilizations through the Eyes of Shakespeare” from 5-6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25 at the Coconino Center for the Arts!
Free!
