Insiders

Okay, this post really isn't about insiders, per se. I am just being silly since yesterday's post was titled outsiders and this post is about quite the opposite.

Let me start by saying that we did see Othello tonight and yes, the rumors are true, BOTH of the male leads are men of color. I am overwhelmed by the performance and my heart is full and I am still processing so that is all I am going to say at this point about this production other than to wish, with all of my heart, that it were possible for all of you to see it. It is an amazing effort and it is always fun to watch and play the "which episode of Doctor Who did I see that person in" game.

So…insiders as opposed to outsiders. I learned today that I get a serious high when I get to hear the really down and dirty scholarly stuff concerning Shakespeare and his contemporaries. I would have thought that I would have been more interested in the actors and directors that is really proving not to be the case. The woman who opened the day (Professor Laurie Maguire of Oxford) offered an amazing lecture this morning. What made it so delightful is that she had experienced a powerful ah-hah during last night's performance of Volpone and she had deviated from the planned syllabus to present her new understandings to us. What she offered was an understanding of the fact that Volpone is an inversion of the story of Othello, produced shortly after Othello made its initial appearance. I will not bore you with these comparisons, nobody who is reading this really cares. But what came alive for me is the friendship/competition that William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson enjoyed. They really did push each other and play off of each other and caused each other to stretch, grow, and improve. These two men have always been important to me but they came alive in a new way today. I am really grateful that they had each other. They were very different men from different backgrounds but they really did appreciate one another and I look forward to the day when I can kiss Ben Jonson on the cheek, for his own work but really for his tremendous efforts to make certain that the world received the works of Shakespeare in a grand folio so that these works can still be changing lives today. I think he will understand…

I have also enjoyed watching two adorable British women who attend the Shakespeare school every summer together and have for many years. They befriended Erin last year and warmly accepted me as well this summer. They have been friends for most of their lives and have chosen the theatre and particularly Shakespeare as the common ground to keep their friendship alive even though they now live in different parts of the country. Erin and I spoke of how marvelous such a lifelong friendship is and what comfort and stability it brings. As we were speaking of our two friends, we were also observing a table of women who were seated near us in the restaurant where we were eating dinner. These women were obviously a group that gets together quite often to enjoy drinks and chatting. But at one point in the evening they turned to a bit of gossiping and I felt uncomfortable for those women of their group who were not with them that evening and wondered at how they would feel if they knew what was being said of them. I know that this is personally a HUGE fear of mine, that people are not really saying nice things about me once I leave the room. I won't dwell on this but it made me think as my day seemed to be so centered on friendships and inclusion that we need to make certain that we are not engaging in disparaging discussions of others when they are not present.

I am grateful for so many friends and right now I am especially grateful for Erin and her patience and her quiet humor and strength. This has been a delightful and comfortable trip and I am so blessed that I have Erin and others in my life that I can travel with and learn and grow with and be liked in spite of my many foibles.