Remixing Classics Makes them More Accessible

"Are the most memorable Shakespeare productions you’ve seen modern or “classical”? Do you find it jarring when Hamlet picks up an iPad? What did you make of Mr. Leveaux’s 'Romeo and Juliet'/" (Isherwood, "To Renovate or Not to Renovate").

"Beyond that, performances must be shaped line by line and scene by scene. Given the remoteness of some of the language, and the sheer complexity of the plays, I would guess that most actors are immensely grateful to directors for helping them shape their performances" (Isherwood, "Updates Work, Except When They Don't")

Is the point of reworking classics to be innovative? To keep the work alive for modern audiences? To allow audiences to understand the plot before cycling back to the original work? All of the above?

I once argued with a classmate on the merit of works like the "Lizzie Bennett Diaries" when taking the Jane Austen course here at Hood. Her point was that the work warped and misconstrued one of Austen's most beloved works; my point, that a side from being entertaining, it is re-telling stories that keeps them alive, in conversation, and in the best case peaks peoples interest in reading the original--while allowing them to understand otherwise complex language they may not have understood previously. Remixes can also highlight points of a work that can otherwise go unnoticed by audiences who have worked with them time and time again. So perhaps as a scholar of Hamlet you uncover a new interpretation when the namesake picks up an iPad as opposed to a skull.