In Cloud 9, the most interesting thing to me is the note at the beginning about switching up the gender of the actors who play characters. I am sure one would notice this a lot more in watching the play, but I could not keep straight who was who. I found myself flipping back to see if the actor was played by a female or a male.
Then there was this seemingly random note that the black servant was played by "a white" which is not to say whether the character was played by a male or female. I think it is interesting that this is used. As I am only reading the story, it isn't adding much to it for me. Maybe it would add more if we watched it as a play, but right now I'm just getting confused, and my big question is "what does it matter?"
Maybe this is what the playwright wanted to bring up. Perhaps it shouldn't matter. I think the only thing that makes it a roadblock in understanding is the gender roles in society. The playwright may be pointing out that meaning can still be found in the play even if the actors' vs characters' gender roles are all muddled.
2 comments:
Sam, I completely agree with you! I am constantly finding myself double-checking the identity of each character as well while I'm reading Cloud 9. Whats even more interesting, is how my interpretation of the scene changes after I check what the actual sexuality of the characters involved are. For example, in class when we were discussing the scene where Ellen professes her love to Betty, I pretty much had a brain explosion when I thought too much about the sexuality and gender of each character. Betty is a man, playing a women, rejecting the affections of a woman because she IS a woman, but is in reality a man. While the whole situation sounds abnormal at first, I began to wonder is it really so bizarre? In reality, it is in fact a romantic exchange between a man and a woman after all. I agree with you in that the author is begging the question of "what does it matter?" or "is it really so odd?". When one strips these relationships from society's definitions of what is an accurate portrayal of a common man and women, these people seem close to normal.
I agree with both Sam and Katie. I would have loved to see this stage as I think it may have been more powerful, and perhaps comical and Churchill's points may have come across in a different way. I kept forgetting that Betty was played by a man as her role is so submissive and meek that I wonder if the man cast as Betty had more feminine traits or perhaps even had more man-like appearance than even Clive.
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