Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something... Retold?

by Samantha Baird, Dramaturg

For centuries before the written record, people told stories, and retold them, and retold them again. While the moral of the story or general themes often stayed the same, there were bits and pieces lost or changed through history to fit the time period or the culture in which the story was being told. However, after the invention of the printing press, it became easier to write these stories down and publish them for a wider audience to enjoy and experience the same version of the story. But even with publication, there were different translations. Since that time, storytelling has neither ceased nor slowed down.

What once was accidental, now is intentional in the way of changing traditional fairy and folk tales. Today we have fairy tales like The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, Twisted Tales by Liz Braswell, and (Fairly) True Tales by Liesl Shurtliff. These retellings are meant for different audiences whether that be in age, gender, or something else, but that doesn’t change the fact that all of these books are beloved fairy tales retold in a new way. The question now, after recognizing that there are many retellings of classic tales, is why? Why these stories again and again? Why now? Why are they being told in these new ways?

After speaking with Liesl Shurtliff, her “why” is, “to tell a story that would be more on the level of kids today and how they, how I, and how a lot of people view the world…These stories still capture our fancy and attention, and the purpose of a retelling is to take something that’s familiar, and really resonates with that, but then make it new and meaningful in a way that makes sense today.” The beauty of retelling stories is the ability to make it your own, to find a fairy tale that holds a lot of meaning for you and to tell the world why it should matter to them, too.

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by Emme Corbett, dramaturg As a senior student studying history at BYU. One of the first concepts you learn as a history major is that when you study history, it is vital that you do not bring your modern-day biases with you. As strange as some past behaviors or occurrences may be to our modern eyes, understanding the reality of what life was like in historical societies allows for a more authentic and rich study of the past. It also becomes evident fairly quickly that no matter what point in time you’re studying or where you are in the world, there will be commonalities across many cultures. The shared similarity of the human experience allows these connections to occur, so it is no surprise that researching various time periods could be related back to Caesar in Ancient Rome. It was necessary in our dramaturgical research to explore three major time periods that are encompassed within this play in one way or another. These time periods are first, 49 B.C. Rome, when Julius Caesar first became a dictator of Ancient Rome, and the setting for the original script. Second, 1599 England, when William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar was first performed, most likely at the Globe Theatre. And third, 1919 Italy, when Italy was recovering from participating in the First World War, and the setting for our performance at BYU. This weakened state created a situation where authoritarianism could ensue. It was an interesting experience to be able to connect the culture of Ancient Rome to that of Italy in the early 20th century. The reason for choosing this production of Julius Caesar to take place in 1919 Italy is not random. The significance of that time period is to draw upon the reality that history repeats itself. An aspect of history that is repeatedly detrimental to countless societies is when a group of people finds itself weak and vulnerable--whether that is due to lack of resources, a change in leadership, exiting a war, or simply evolving generations--and a power vacuum is created. This moment in time when desperation allows for someone to assume leadership (based purely on the need to rely on anybody) and provide temporary relief is often too quickly turned into an authoritarian government. The third time period that we also had to account for in this production was the time of Shakespeare in 1599 England. Some of the questions we had to ask ourselves were: Why Julius Caesar? What elements from the story of Caesar’s assassination did Shakespeare feel would resonate with his audience? From these questions and further research on the Elizabethan period, we discovered that, like in 1919 Italy, there was a concern with the succession to the Crown. Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne at the time and created conflict among the people beyond her just being a woman in power. Queen Elizabeth never married and subsequently never bore any children, thus failing to secure a successor who was in her direct line. Another element of the play that related to Shakespeare’s audience was the role of the plebeians. Their behavior in the play could symbolize how the lower class in the Elizabethan Era, while uneducated and changeable, contribute largely to the success of their society.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something... Retold?

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