The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) was hosted by Davidson College and Davidson Arts and Creative Engagement (DACE) for a two-week residency during Fall 2022 semester. The RSC performs plays by Shakespeare and other playwrights of his era throughout the United Kingdom and other countries, aiming to share these works with the next generations with the possibility of inspiring new stories. During their residency, the RSC hosted workshops, seminars, and lectures, visited local schools, and provided a showing of The Taming of the Shrew, one of Shakespeare’s comedies. They also provided a collection of engravings that depict scenes from several of Shakespeare’s influential dramatic plays, which were placed in the Cunningham Theatre Center for public viewing.
Theatre, along with theatrical artwork, was not an area of study I would have imagined liking in the past. While I studied various Shakespeare plays, in high school, it was always more so just part of the respective English literature courses I was taking. I never considered them to be important to me or worth investing extra time into understanding more about outside of academics. I realize the Royal Shakespeare Company, whose goal is to share the works of one of the most influential and well-known playwrights, likely intended people such as myself as their primary audience, or at least secondary. The engravings provided by the RSC which I had the opportunity to have a look at were brilliant, and I would say each helped to tell a part of the story it showed a scene from. I was aware of some of the engravings’ plays, though not all; however, after seeing the artworks I decided to research the ones unknown to me. In hindsight, this may have very well been the plan of the Royal Shakespeare Company–to rely on the curiosity of the youth rather than just their preexisting interests, to perhaps nurture the growth of a new interest in the realm of theater. This indicates that the RSC successfully accomplished its goal, at least in my case; the fact that there are students studying theater could also point to the possibility that I was not the only one who experienced this spark.
Given my former lack of interest whatsoever in Shakespeare, theater, or anything of the sort, I find it interesting that by simply visiting the RSC art showcase and following it up with research on the works present, I ended up developing a newfound appreciation in the subject. I had been intentionally avoiding the non-academic study of plays, theater, musicals, and anything associated with them, as I considered them to be irrelevant to my intellectual pursuits and my personal enjoyment. Yet I now know much more information about four plays than I did in the past. Though I have no intention of studying theater or taking courses, I am certain that I will continue to read more of the subject on my own time in the future. That said, I also find it interesting to consider how many future playwrights and incredible stories the Royal Shakespeare Company has inspired, both with their Fall 2022 residency at Davidson College and in their other events.
One of the engravings I was particularly interested by was from As You Like It: https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/van-every-smith-galleries/exhibition/shakespeare-s-comedies/dramatic-works-of-shakespeare-as-you-like-it
