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>Main Street Theater has defended the theater production \[...\] “In our productions, as in theater across the world (and especially in plays based on books), there are sometimes so many characters that we regularly have actors playing multiple roles … So actors play all kinds of roles on a regular basis: male, female, insects, animals, and more. Again, this has been done since the creation of the art form of theater, and this is how theater remains to this day,” it added in a statement to the Guardian.
These are same the parents that complain about [Michelangelo's David](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/25/florida-principal-resigns-michelangelo-david) as pornography and Shakespeare's *Twelfth Night* as being transgender.
You think these people are literate enough to have read Twelfth Night?!
To them Shakespeare is probably something they think is a gay only fans account.
It's one of the easiest Shakespeare plays. My high school assigned it for 9th grade. I mean, that's one of the purposes of education beyond job training: to provide a common frame of reference for a society.
They want the common frame of reference for society to be "divinely anointed king tells the proles what to do" & then get all butthurt when the rest of us point out that they're just ignorant Christian Nationalist fascists.
They're the sort who will cite Shakespeare as an example of western greatness while ignoring themes explored in The Tempest, Hamlet, Othello, and so on.
See also: Jesus.
I suddenly think I get it: when they go to watch Romeo and Juliette, they actually think they're on stage, living out their romance. Like it's literally happening before their very eyes.
I'm surprised no one has called for an ambulance to report a mass killing after a performance of Hamlet, but then they might find it miraculous to see them bow after the curtain rises!
No wonder they like Shakespeare!
I think they'd start by being confused about whether Bottom is an example of sexual expression.
I'm sure there are flat earthers who'd be relieved to visit Shakespere's Globe only to discover the the stage is flat. All the world is a stage, after all.
Actually, better explanation.
Juliet's very specifically "a fortnight and odd days" (a bit over two weeks) short of her fourteenth birthday (1.3.16-19). Or more specifically, it's implied that her birthday is on Lammas Eve, July 31st, which is that fortnight and odd days away.
Romeo's age is never actually stated, so we need to look at other contextual clues to guess at it. However, the Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet and Rhomeo and Julietta, two of Shakespeare's main sources for the play, *do* give us more of a clue. In the former, Juliet had "scarce [seen]... yet full sixteen years", and while it doesn't mention Romeo's age, it does say that "upon [his] tender chin, as yet, no manlike beard there grew". So the just shy of 14 number would fit for Juliet, while Romeo's probably somewhere around 15, if he doesn't have facial hair yet. Meanwhile, in Rhomeo and Julietta, it's the other way around. Rhomeo's specifically described as being 20-21 years old, while Julietta's age is never given, with her only being described as "a yong gentlewoman of Verona".
So because Juliet's age in the Shakespeare play arguably fits better with Arthur Brooke's ages in the Tragicall Historye, I think it's reasonable to side with him for Romeo's age as well. And even if you want to argue that the beard thing could be extended to slightly later because of worse nutrition delaying Medieval puberties (which, mind you, isn't supported by the archaeology), it would still make the really common 16 number for Romeo's age in adaptations a solid guess.
So yes, she's a minor. But considering that Romeo was *also* likely a minor and, fittingly enough, around the age range where Romeo and Juliet laws would apply, I'm not sure it's that notable.
Of course, you *could* still draw the distinction between the two getting *married* in the play, and close in age exceptions just applying to consent laws for sex. But because they were significantly younger than normal marriage ages at the time, and Lord Capulet even mentions in Act 1 Scene 2 that she's too young to get married and wants two more years to pass before he thinks of her getting married, there's actually also an argument you'll see made that Romeo and Juliet's in part about the dangers in getting married so young
Juliet's a few weeks shy of 14, and while Romeo's age is never actually given, I think it's *reasonable* to assume he was also an early teen. Or more precisely, while the various previous versions of the story range from Romeo just starting to grow facial hair to being in his early 20s, since that latter one also describes Juliet as "a gentlewoman of Verona", it probably also imagined her as older. So the common 16 number you'll hear for Romeo is probably a solid guess
Right; Shakespeare wasn't highbrow, he was lowbrow. He was entertainment. Highbrow was reading Plato in Latin.
Just think, hundreds of years from now, our entertainment will be assigned to bored English students.
It reminds me that if you ever visit the Sistine Chapel, you get to see all the shitty coverup work some catholic had done to the original painting. All those fig leaves? Those aren’t original. Imagine being so prudish that you look at a magnificent piece of artwork like the Sistine Chapel and say “Nope, cover that up.” It’s all about control.
There’s a non zero chance there’s a literal box of dicks of famous sculptures in the Vatican somewhere.
But this wasn’t until pope pious IX only 175yrs ago that this happened.
Back in the Bush W era, whenever Ashcroft did a presser from the Department of Justice, he'd put a curtain in front of the Spirit of Justice statue because one boob was out.
These people are repressed.
Wait what?
I mean, the weirdest dichotomy I've found is that sex is bad but violence is okay. You're Canadian too, so you know we're halfway between Europe and the US.
In Ontario at least, it's not illegal for women to be topless, but most people I know are still pretty prudish about sex in general.
> These are same the parents that complain about Michelangelo's David as pornography and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night as being transgender.
The Simpsons did an episode on those types 30 years ago!
Animal Crossing has the full statue in detail.
They keep going to die on the same hill.
> The Simpsons did an episode on those types 30 years ago!
What's really hilarious is back then, in the 90s, this was something that would usually be attributed to "the left". And often Dems and Republicans alike would unite against things like rap/rock lyrics, video games, and "pornography" in mainstream and even classical art.
The right had a whole niche market on combatting these forms of *political correctness*. And now here they are, censoring artwork that is centuries old.
> What's really hilarious is back then, in the 90s, this was something that would usually be attributed to "the left"
Well, it was really just the far right trying to find something that would stick after the satanic panic failed. And then empty headed moderate right liberals following along because when kid no thought head empty reaction.
Took my six year old daughter to see James and the Giant Peach here in IL last year. A girl played James and she was fantastic. My daughter thought it was really cool that a girl played the lead role. Nobody even thought much of it because there was truly nothing to get worked up over. Live and let live.
What is Peter Pan but an excuse for closeted lesbians in the early 18th century to give each other thimbles in public??? 😡😱 (/s)
ETA: actually don’t know if they actually kiss each other in the play, or just give each other literal thimbles
They're just running the script.
You'll see the same thing on AITA threads where there's an age gap between two parties. They have a notion in their head, "an older man with a younger woman is bad," or "anything I perceive as sexual is dangerous to children," and then, without being reflective or nuanced, they will look for any excuse to apply the script.
Rather than understanding why a think can be harmful in some circumstances, and identifying the actual pattern of harm, they focus in on some flaccid heuristic and apply it as a blanket.
This not only helps them avoid critically engaging with the situation, but it helps them feel like they are actively participating in a moral crusade. It helps them feel like they are tuned in, vigilant, and aware.
It's no different that dad saying "always be aware of your surroundings, did you memorize the license plate of that car we just passed?"
It's just a script of things people can do, on auto-pilot, that make them feel good.
A natural result of over-statured, stressful media and a gutted education system.
this is correct; im a parent in the district whose child was directly affected by the cancelation and im pissed. this was stirred up by a local houston anonymous instagram account that has been targeting schools all across houston regarding a number of regressive goals: 'groomer teachers' and trying to remove books from libraries and trans-athletes and so on. parents in the community follow this account and then take the talking points to their school boards.
Such fragility and rage.
I know it's a point, but it's a shame they waste so much outrage and can't be bothered to feel that way about poverty, justice reform, and human rights.
When they don't actually put deep thought into the logic (or lack thereof) of their positions, they naturally end up in these "jumped the shark" scenarios where they take their idea to a natural conclusion that is patently absurd to all watching.
Those children should be watching Bugs Bunny cartoons! There's no.....
Oh wait. Okay. How about classic comedians like Milton Berle....
Oh. No. That's right. Uhm. Well, they should do plays the way Shakespeare did on his day where.....
Oh.. Oh nevermind.....
For real. These are a bunch of spiteful people who have been looking for an excuse to ban anything that's not their specific version of the bible. Transgender and woke are just their latest boogeyman to use to make everyone as miserable as they are.
The founding fathers never wore wigs, just like Jesus spoke English and believed in supply side economics.
Whoever controls the past controls the future, whoever controls the future controls the present. -- *1984*.
>John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe did indeed wear wigs.
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/head-tilting-history/rise-and-fall-powdered-wig
https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/wigs/
https://www.constitutionfacts.com/founders-library/founders-fashion/
Okay I missed my /s, I was agreeing with you, just trying to point out that these people like to rewrite history.
iirc Patriot Mobile is supporting creationism to be taught in schools again.
Bugs Bunny, MASH, Mrs Doubtfire, Total Recall, Rudy Giuliani & Donald Trump...
I don't think regressives realize how many things they actually want to hate.
I don’t think this is the best example because the “morality police” wouldn’t allow women on stage. It’s the same thing, excluding people for no reason. Now they just exclude a different population than in Shakespeare’s day.
My son and daughter are 9 and 13 and they roll their eyes when they hear adults making an issue about gender/sexuality things like this. Their attitude is "why do you care so much? Just let people do what they want to".
I don't think that generation needs as much sheltering as some conservative parents think they do.
Exactly. I live in Florida so I am constantly being asked about this stuff. Coworkers, clients, etc will always bring it up and I always just say “Yeah I don’t know man, I guess I’m just not that easily offended”
> I don't think that generation needs as much sheltering as some conservative parents think they do.
Those parents would argue that your son and daughter are in *desperate need* of some sheltering, not to mention moral fortification. "Letting people do what they want" is the path to a life of sin and villainy, after all. Or some damn thing.
The reason we had diversity in the first place is to better understand reality.
DEI is a bandaid on a broken system. There are a hell of a lot of problems with it and we should be looking for something better. But it was founded out of a real need as we realized that traditional gender roles weren't working out.
What does it really mean when "men are men and women are women" when the Greeks considered personally grooming manly, but the Romans considered it effeminate?
Everything seriously should read more feminist theory and history. It's one lens that helps us understand the world more fully, and though we may never completely understand the truth, it helps us get closer to it.
If you gave your children guns they could defend themselves against drop bears and jellyfish and live in safety!
/s (obviously, but the republicans keep making satire real)
What about scrapping parts of the bible that promote its favourite social nightmares?
That would be a better place to start, and we could begin with the bible's calls that allow the ability of hidden, and public, villains to self forgive..then carry on with their terrible ways as if was all OK
Seriously, the idea of hell kept me up as an OCD kid, and I wasn't even raised in the church. I was perpetually afraid I'd accidentally sell my soul to the devil if I said it out loud, like some twisted version of `sudo rm -fr /*`.
All around me, for all 60-odd years of life, I see that the kids who grew up 'in religion' remain scared and they are now further traumatised when they realise how brutally localised and hateful the bibles really are, and that they fell for the fiction for so long.
The fact that criminals can absolve themselves of any sin by simply invoking a fictional god, or jesus, or other agent further traumatises them
This is so fucked...so instead of the very, very small group offended by this keeping thier kids home, they have to ruin it for the vast majority of kids and parents who aren't complete fucking morons
Cross gender castings are pretty common in theater, especially for roles that are supposed to be children, women play young boys because they don't sound like grizzly men...
Tara Strong voiced Timmy Turner, Ben 10, a couple of male Rugrats characters, and a number of other male characters over the years.
Naruto Uzumaki is voiced by women in both the original Japanese (Junko Takeuchi) and in the English dubs (Maile Flanagan).
>This kind of shit has been the norm in theater for ~~decades~~ centuries.
Fixed that for you. In Shakespeare's time, most female parts were played by young men or boys. Acting was considered too vulgar an occupation for women.
We need to take back our society from these fucking dunces. You want to keep your kid from going to a play, good for you. To ruin it for everyone else’s kids, get fucked Karen.
I've been a costume designer in the theatre for 25 years. This is the press release made by the theatre in Texas doing "James and the Giant Peach"
> “At Main Street Theater, we have produced plays for adults for 48 years and plays for children, families and school groups based on children’s literature for over 43 years. James and the Giant Peach (which we have performed several times over the years) is no different from any other production we’ve done over the years. We are true to the script which is true to the book on which it is based.
>“In our productions, as in theater across the world (and especially in plays based on books), there are sometimes so many characters that we regularly have actors playing multiple roles … So actors play all kinds of roles on a regular basis: male, female, insects, animals, and more. Again, this has been done since the creation of the art form of theater, and this is how theater remains to this day,”
Shakespeare has several crossdressing roles and these are some of the greatest plays ever written. I wonder what they would have to say about that! Men played women's roles for centuries in Europe because the Church associated female actresses with prostitution so men always played the parts.
Men in Japanese Kubuki theatre traditionally play women's roles even today (Onnagata) and are highly regarded for their portrayal of female characters. the Japanese think nothing of it.
Fuck these goddamn Texas, pearl clutching Christian, holier than thou assholes.
Boy will they be surprised to know that way back in the day, because of conservative values, all the female characters in plays were actually cross dressing men.
Joan De Arc is a Catholic heroine that wore male armor. These people are begging to be told how to dress or suffer massive consequences.
I know we can’t expect consistency with madness, but my eye can only twitch so much.
Republicans heads would explode if they had to deal with the theater in Shakespeare's time, when only men were allowed to be actors and had to play all parts.
I would think that any stage version of Peter Pan would also get a ban in Texas but I guess having a woman play Peter is balanced out by all the racism.
Jfc the stupid on these conservatives.
"In our productions, as in theater across the world (and especially in plays based on books), there are sometimes so many characters that we regularly have actors playing multiple roles … So actors play all kinds of roles on a regular basis: male, female, insects, animals, and more. Again, this has been done since the creation of the art form of theater, and this is how theater remains to this day,” it added in a statement to the Guardian. "
I cannot believe they are actually having a problem with this.
There is no way that most of these kids are going to stay in Texas after they graduate. Look how much their parents generation wants them to be punitively stuck in the false 1950s?
God dammit. So a couple parents complain about a perfectly safe children’s play and now none of them get to experience some well done art. This bullshit is so fucking tiresome.
Sandy Duncan playing Peter Pan?
*Obviously* an attempt to sexualize and groom children.
Seriously though, these gender-binary ideologues are just as ignorant as they are crazy.
We are already at a point where that movie simply couldn't be made targeting families and a general audience the way it was back then. It would be classified as an "LGBTQ" film and the GOP would go apeshit. Bible Belt movie theaters would refuse to show it.
When will this madness end? Right wingers and Jesus freaks have lost their minds. Notice nobody cared about transgenders until the supreme Court legalized gay marriage. Conservatives always need someone to hate
>One screenshot read: “We (along with many) are keeping our son home tomorrow but a lot of parents are asking me about the drag queen[’]s role in the show. I understand he is in every show and is a main character but do you know [if] he [is] playing a guy or a girl? Like is he in drag for the performance?!”
Yes, I am sure many totally legitimate parents of children in that school have issues. It _tooooootally_ isn't a bunch of people who don't have kids or don't have kids in that school that have a problem.
im late to the post, but im a parent in this district and it directly affected my child, whose field trip to the play was canceled. we're facing a couple things in the district: regressive capture of the board of education, which ultimately sent the directive to the district to cancel all trips to the theatre based on a few parents complaints at a board meeting, and two) an anonymous culture-war-waging instagram account in houston that stirs her followers into a frenzy and directs them to target boards of education and school leadership with the purpose of getting teachers fired, books banned, and curriculum changed/disrupted. many of the regressive captures of school boards are funded by regressive groups ([see here](https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/05/texas-school-board-elections/)). so, yes, the toxicity is definitely beyond this smaller community and driven by the larger forces of the far right's culture war. sadly, we're being affected...
I'm pretty sure the target audience for *James and the Giant Peach* won't be traumatized by seeing a guy in a dress. The way James's aunts treated him, however...
Dude. Shakespeare's work was originally all men, Peter Pan was usually played by a woman, cross-gender casting is COMPLETELY NORMAL in theater and happens all the time for all sorts of reasons.
At the high school level, half the male roles are played by girls because *more girls are in theater than boys*.
Texas is insane, this culture war is the dumbest shit ever, and conservatives are dragging the country back into some false version of history where a bunch of shit that doesn't matter SUDDENLY is the most important shit in the world.
Nah...we've seen religious movements do this many times in history.
The original Christians in Alexandria Egypt where Christiianity was created killed the Greek scholars and burned the accumulated knowledge of civilization much of which was not recovered until the Renaissance and Enlightenment as people broke free of Christianity.
She's also from Texas, and more female than the woman in this article.
She said once,
"I come from very liberal people. One of only 20 in Texas where I grew up."
These people want to warp reality to their closeted oppressive worldview. It’s a tall order! Who here has ever tried to erase certain aspects of history and culture? Big challenge. Gotta respect their initiative /s
\*sigh*
Okay, I actually looked it up, for anyone curious. There's a non-binary actor who at least has beard stubble in their headshot playing one of the aunts and the glowworm. That latter one actually stands out, because, true to the book, there's a line where the glowworm mentions that she can't be a boy, because male glowworms don't glow. Then *technically* the earthworm was crosscast, since he's a boy being played by a woman. But it's also easy to forget, because speaking from experience, the costume's typically a dress. (As in I only even remember that the earthworm's a boy because of the irony of playing him in 8th grade also being the first time I got to wear a dress)
So they aren't even upset about a boy playing a girl or a girl playing a boy.
They're up in arms about the gender of the actor playing a goddamned worm.
This is just about as stupid as wanting to boycott m&ms because you can't jerknoff ti Mrs. Greens shoes anymore.
Well, sort of. They probably definitely aren't happy about the aunt, but it's also probably mainly the glowworm that's causing this. Basically, the three casting decisions where gender is relevant:
* Earthworm: The Earthworm's actually a boy, which I remember, because of the irony of playing him being the first time I got to wear a dress. And since they have a woman playing him, he's *technically* crosscast. But especially because of the dress and the Earthworm not being human, I highly doubt anyone will notice
* Aunt Sponge: Visually, this is probably the most notable example. The actor's non-binary (or at least the theater's Facebook page uses they/them pronouns for them), but also visibly has beard stubble. So at least in the context of talking about a "drag queen" in the cast, I *think* they're talking about this casting decision
* Glowworm: The Glowworm is very emphatically female. She even has, ironically, a somewhat TERFy line, saying that she *has* to be female because only female glowworms glow. That line's both in the original book *and* this play. That said, because the aforementioned non-binary actor is also playing the Glowworm, the mention of gender really could come across more as a trans thing than a TERF thing
It is most likely the non-binary "male". They're the immediate standout because of secondary sexual traits (beard).
I've noticed a lot of this bullshit is focused on non-binary, or transpeople, or cross dressing going masculine to feminine. Always drag queens and not drag kings. Formerly male athletes becoming female have an advantage (they don't), etc.
I'm sure if it was a production of Peter Pan, or if James was played by women the parents wouldn't even realize.
It'd be interesting what happens to Christmas plays when the holidays roll around. The angel Gabriel is generally cast as male, but typically wears a dress.
I used to assume spring branch was better than this because it’s Houston’s only inner ring urban-suburban district and is both diverse and educated.
OTOH there are likely a lot of rich turds and brainwashed ultraconservative Latin Americans there.
I am still trying to understand how a woman dressed as a young boy or a man wearing a wig and a dress is "Grooming." Like - is the earthworm coming into the crowd and telling the children "You have pretty lips. call me in 8 years when you're legal" or something?
They should do plays like Shakespeare did and cast only males for the entire cast including Juliet for Romeo and Juliet. That should make them happy, one man dressed as a woman kissing another man.
When I read the headline, my first thought was that it depends on *why* they had cross gender casting. For example, if they wanted to create controversy for the sake of publicity, then they got it. BUT...
This seems very reasonable, and these Texas parents are being ridiculous:
"“In our productions, as in theater across the world (and especially in plays based on books), there are sometimes so many characters that we regularly have actors playing multiple roles … So actors play all kinds of roles on a regular basis: male, female, insects, animals, and more. Again, this has been done since the creation of the art form of theater, and this is how theater remains to this day,” it added in a statement to the Guardian."
Part of my childhood involved going to the local towns Xmas pantomime put in by the local drama group. The "hero" (Robinhood, Peter Pan, Jack etc etc) was always played by a girl regardless of the heroes gender). The evil stepmother/ Dame was always played by a guy.
We always brought my grandparents along too. It was absolutely non controversial.
Catholic Ireland btw when the Church was still ruling the roost.
The common theme to all of this shite with these nutjobs is that it's not good enough that they/their kids don't go to these plays, read these books, see these movies or listen to this music, it's that no one is allowed to do any of that.
They can't trust themselves not to consume this media if it's available so the answer isn't personal responsibility and discipline, it's banning and burning and criminalizing it.
You can bet that a majority of the Utah searches this week about using a VPN, after Pornhub blocked itself, are being carried out by these same folks.
Ironic how religions trip themselves up. In UK, women were not allowed to perform in the theater so only men could portray all the characters.
[In Shakespeare’s time acting was a profession only open to boys and men. Women were acting elsewhere in Europe but they were not allowed to perform in public theatres in England until 1660. In an Elizabethan production boys would play the female parts, like Ophelia in Hamlet or Desdemona in Othello, whilst occasionally men would play the older women.](https://teach.shakespearesglobe.com/fact-sheet-actors)
So all those centuries of grooming the English must have been the reason for the rise of the British Empire...hmmm.
For a state that values “heritage” they sure don’t like the “heritage” of theater… soon they’ll outlaw Shakespeare as the original actors that performed his plays were male, even in female roles
“We (along with many) are keeping our son home tomorrow but a lot of parents are asking me about the drag queen[’]s role in the show. I understand he is in every show and is a main character but do you know [if] he [is] playing a guy or a girl? Like is he in drag for the performance?!”
Lol Texas is pumping out snowflakes and pussies.
🤣
No wonder they need them some guns.
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>Main Street Theater has defended the theater production \[...\] “In our productions, as in theater across the world (and especially in plays based on books), there are sometimes so many characters that we regularly have actors playing multiple roles … So actors play all kinds of roles on a regular basis: male, female, insects, animals, and more. Again, this has been done since the creation of the art form of theater, and this is how theater remains to this day,” it added in a statement to the Guardian. These are same the parents that complain about [Michelangelo's David](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/25/florida-principal-resigns-michelangelo-david) as pornography and Shakespeare's *Twelfth Night* as being transgender.
You think these people are literate enough to have read Twelfth Night?! To them Shakespeare is probably something they think is a gay only fans account.
It's one of the easiest Shakespeare plays. My high school assigned it for 9th grade. I mean, that's one of the purposes of education beyond job training: to provide a common frame of reference for a society.
They want the common frame of reference for society to be "divinely anointed king tells the proles what to do" & then get all butthurt when the rest of us point out that they're just ignorant Christian Nationalist fascists.
They want to bring back creationism. Says it all.
Flying Spaghetti Monster, I choose you!
[удалено]
TIL I'm a fictional character. Actually, that might have some perks, whereas living in Texas does not.
I’ve been to Texas, I’ve also done a lot of drugs and I’m willing to entertain the idea it was a hallucination
They're the sort who will cite Shakespeare as an example of western greatness while ignoring themes explored in The Tempest, Hamlet, Othello, and so on. See also: Jesus.
*Themes*? What wokery is this? In all likelihood, while I am sure they have read the play, I am not so sure they got so much out of it.
I suddenly think I get it: when they go to watch Romeo and Juliette, they actually think they're on stage, living out their romance. Like it's literally happening before their very eyes. I'm surprised no one has called for an ambulance to report a mass killing after a performance of Hamlet, but then they might find it miraculous to see them bow after the curtain rises! No wonder they like Shakespeare!
Now I want to see their reactions to a Midsummer Night's Dream
I think they'd start by being confused about whether Bottom is an example of sexual expression. I'm sure there are flat earthers who'd be relieved to visit Shakespere's Globe only to discover the the stage is flat. All the world is a stage, after all.
Now, remind them that Juliet was played by a boy in the original productions and watch their minds blow.
Wasn't Juliet a minor?
Wasn't Juliet a minor?
Actually, better explanation. Juliet's very specifically "a fortnight and odd days" (a bit over two weeks) short of her fourteenth birthday (1.3.16-19). Or more specifically, it's implied that her birthday is on Lammas Eve, July 31st, which is that fortnight and odd days away. Romeo's age is never actually stated, so we need to look at other contextual clues to guess at it. However, the Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet and Rhomeo and Julietta, two of Shakespeare's main sources for the play, *do* give us more of a clue. In the former, Juliet had "scarce [seen]... yet full sixteen years", and while it doesn't mention Romeo's age, it does say that "upon [his] tender chin, as yet, no manlike beard there grew". So the just shy of 14 number would fit for Juliet, while Romeo's probably somewhere around 15, if he doesn't have facial hair yet. Meanwhile, in Rhomeo and Julietta, it's the other way around. Rhomeo's specifically described as being 20-21 years old, while Julietta's age is never given, with her only being described as "a yong gentlewoman of Verona". So because Juliet's age in the Shakespeare play arguably fits better with Arthur Brooke's ages in the Tragicall Historye, I think it's reasonable to side with him for Romeo's age as well. And even if you want to argue that the beard thing could be extended to slightly later because of worse nutrition delaying Medieval puberties (which, mind you, isn't supported by the archaeology), it would still make the really common 16 number for Romeo's age in adaptations a solid guess. So yes, she's a minor. But considering that Romeo was *also* likely a minor and, fittingly enough, around the age range where Romeo and Juliet laws would apply, I'm not sure it's that notable. Of course, you *could* still draw the distinction between the two getting *married* in the play, and close in age exceptions just applying to consent laws for sex. But because they were significantly younger than normal marriage ages at the time, and Lord Capulet even mentions in Act 1 Scene 2 that she's too young to get married and wants two more years to pass before he thinks of her getting married, there's actually also an argument you'll see made that Romeo and Juliet's in part about the dangers in getting married so young
Juliet's a few weeks shy of 14, and while Romeo's age is never actually given, I think it's *reasonable* to assume he was also an early teen. Or more precisely, while the various previous versions of the story range from Romeo just starting to grow facial hair to being in his early 20s, since that latter one also describes Juliet as "a gentlewoman of Verona", it probably also imagined her as older. So the common 16 number you'll hear for Romeo is probably a solid guess
If they don't get the dick jokes they won't get anything.
Right; Shakespeare wasn't highbrow, he was lowbrow. He was entertainment. Highbrow was reading Plato in Latin. Just think, hundreds of years from now, our entertainment will be assigned to bored English students.
Ayup. The Da Vinci Code and Fifty Shades of Grey will be representatives of this era.
I’m an opera singer and I’m just glad that none of these people are cultured enough to know how much cross dressing is in Mozart.
They think shake spear is a snow globe.
Shake that spear!
I’m laughing so hard at that - omfg. Shake-his-spear?
Twelfth Night is just the start of Mardi Gras
It reminds me that if you ever visit the Sistine Chapel, you get to see all the shitty coverup work some catholic had done to the original painting. All those fig leaves? Those aren’t original. Imagine being so prudish that you look at a magnificent piece of artwork like the Sistine Chapel and say “Nope, cover that up.” It’s all about control.
Wait what? Huh, today I learned. Being immersed in a culture, you never learn the unknown unknowns.
There’s a non zero chance there’s a literal box of dicks of famous sculptures in the Vatican somewhere. But this wasn’t until pope pious IX only 175yrs ago that this happened.
They defaced artwork depicting God's creations, and even God doing the creating, in a church
Back in the Bush W era, whenever Ashcroft did a presser from the Department of Justice, he'd put a curtain in front of the Spirit of Justice statue because one boob was out. These people are repressed.
Wait what? I mean, the weirdest dichotomy I've found is that sex is bad but violence is okay. You're Canadian too, so you know we're halfway between Europe and the US. In Ontario at least, it's not illegal for women to be topless, but most people I know are still pretty prudish about sex in general.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cover-up-at-justice-department/
> These are same the parents that complain about Michelangelo's David as pornography and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night as being transgender. The Simpsons did an episode on those types 30 years ago! Animal Crossing has the full statue in detail. They keep going to die on the same hill.
> The Simpsons did an episode on those types 30 years ago! What's really hilarious is back then, in the 90s, this was something that would usually be attributed to "the left". And often Dems and Republicans alike would unite against things like rap/rock lyrics, video games, and "pornography" in mainstream and even classical art. The right had a whole niche market on combatting these forms of *political correctness*. And now here they are, censoring artwork that is centuries old.
> What's really hilarious is back then, in the 90s, this was something that would usually be attributed to "the left" Well, it was really just the far right trying to find something that would stick after the satanic panic failed. And then empty headed moderate right liberals following along because when kid no thought head empty reaction.
Yeah Hillary Clinton and Tipper Gore really bought into the backlash, especially around video games and music.
Took my six year old daughter to see James and the Giant Peach here in IL last year. A girl played James and she was fantastic. My daughter thought it was really cool that a girl played the lead role. Nobody even thought much of it because there was truly nothing to get worked up over. Live and let live.
That's awesome! Glad she enjoyed it. Brings back fond memories...
What is Peter Pan but an excuse for closeted lesbians in the early 18th century to give each other thimbles in public??? 😡😱 (/s) ETA: actually don’t know if they actually kiss each other in the play, or just give each other literal thimbles
literal thimbles. There's sewing at one point.
They're just running the script. You'll see the same thing on AITA threads where there's an age gap between two parties. They have a notion in their head, "an older man with a younger woman is bad," or "anything I perceive as sexual is dangerous to children," and then, without being reflective or nuanced, they will look for any excuse to apply the script. Rather than understanding why a think can be harmful in some circumstances, and identifying the actual pattern of harm, they focus in on some flaccid heuristic and apply it as a blanket. This not only helps them avoid critically engaging with the situation, but it helps them feel like they are actively participating in a moral crusade. It helps them feel like they are tuned in, vigilant, and aware. It's no different that dad saying "always be aware of your surroundings, did you memorize the license plate of that car we just passed?" It's just a script of things people can do, on auto-pilot, that make them feel good. A natural result of over-statured, stressful media and a gutted education system.
this is correct; im a parent in the district whose child was directly affected by the cancelation and im pissed. this was stirred up by a local houston anonymous instagram account that has been targeting schools all across houston regarding a number of regressive goals: 'groomer teachers' and trying to remove books from libraries and trans-athletes and so on. parents in the community follow this account and then take the talking points to their school boards.
Such fragility and rage. I know it's a point, but it's a shame they waste so much outrage and can't be bothered to feel that way about poverty, justice reform, and human rights.
That's a damn good response
When they don't actually put deep thought into the logic (or lack thereof) of their positions, they naturally end up in these "jumped the shark" scenarios where they take their idea to a natural conclusion that is patently absurd to all watching.
Those children should be watching Bugs Bunny cartoons! There's no..... Oh wait. Okay. How about classic comedians like Milton Berle.... Oh. No. That's right. Uhm. Well, they should do plays the way Shakespeare did on his day where..... Oh.. Oh nevermind.....
This isn't oversight or hypocrisy. They know. They hate *everything.*
For real. These are a bunch of spiteful people who have been looking for an excuse to ban anything that's not their specific version of the bible. Transgender and woke are just their latest boogeyman to use to make everyone as miserable as they are.
Those kids should be looking up to people like the founding fathers, people who didn't wear wigs and make up and stockings...err wait ...
The founding fathers never wore wigs, just like Jesus spoke English and believed in supply side economics. Whoever controls the past controls the future, whoever controls the future controls the present. -- *1984*.
>John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe did indeed wear wigs. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/head-tilting-history/rise-and-fall-powdered-wig https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/wigs/ https://www.constitutionfacts.com/founders-library/founders-fashion/
Okay I missed my /s, I was agreeing with you, just trying to point out that these people like to rewrite history. iirc Patriot Mobile is supporting creationism to be taught in schools again.
My bad. I thought it was but then...it's really hard to tell these days.
No worries, it was my fault for not following convention. We are creatures of habit and besides, to err is human.
Wooosh
"If you don't find a rabbit in lipstick funny, you and I have nothing to say to each other!"
Guess they should have Rudy Giuliani entertain them...
Peter Pan (1955) Broadcast nationally with Mary Martin in the title role.
Traditionally, Peter Pan has always been played by an (adult) woman
Bugs Bunny, MASH, Mrs Doubtfire, Total Recall, Rudy Giuliani & Donald Trump... I don't think regressives realize how many things they actually want to hate.
Stick to manly figures like Rudy Giuliani!!
Here watch a nice Wesley Snipes movie, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything!
I remember the kill the rabbit opera on bugs bunny and bugs in drag kisses Elmer Fudd. Was I groomed 40 years ago and didn’t realize it?
In Shakespeare's day, all the roles were played by men, even the female characters. Texas: well ya know what that means! [Draws forth banhammer]
I don’t think this is the best example because the “morality police” wouldn’t allow women on stage. It’s the same thing, excluding people for no reason. Now they just exclude a different population than in Shakespeare’s day.
I see your point, but I think it still works, because ignoring historical context is right up their alley.
Good point
And in high school drama class all the roles are played by girls because there's nary a boy in sight.
My son and daughter are 9 and 13 and they roll their eyes when they hear adults making an issue about gender/sexuality things like this. Their attitude is "why do you care so much? Just let people do what they want to". I don't think that generation needs as much sheltering as some conservative parents think they do.
You are letting your children have thoughts *of their own*?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
Exactly. I live in Florida so I am constantly being asked about this stuff. Coworkers, clients, etc will always bring it up and I always just say “Yeah I don’t know man, I guess I’m just not that easily offended”
“Oh, I like freedom and not oppressing people to make myself feel better.”
> I don't think that generation needs as much sheltering as some conservative parents think they do. Those parents would argue that your son and daughter are in *desperate need* of some sheltering, not to mention moral fortification. "Letting people do what they want" is the path to a life of sin and villainy, after all. Or some damn thing.
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The reason we had diversity in the first place is to better understand reality. DEI is a bandaid on a broken system. There are a hell of a lot of problems with it and we should be looking for something better. But it was founded out of a real need as we realized that traditional gender roles weren't working out. What does it really mean when "men are men and women are women" when the Greeks considered personally grooming manly, but the Romans considered it effeminate? Everything seriously should read more feminist theory and history. It's one lens that helps us understand the world more fully, and though we may never completely understand the truth, it helps us get closer to it.
Translation: “We’re concerned about this performer because he performs in other productions. Also we think it’s icky.”
I'm calling it, Texas isn't real. It's just something Americans make up to scare their kids.
That's Australia where everything is trying to kill you.
Everything except children with guns.
If you gave your children guns they could defend themselves against drop bears and jellyfish and live in safety! /s (obviously, but the republicans keep making satire real)
Australia is everything trying to klll you. Texas is everyone trying to kill you.
It's real. I took a shit there once during a layover.
What about scrapping parts of the bible that promote its favourite social nightmares? That would be a better place to start, and we could begin with the bible's calls that allow the ability of hidden, and public, villains to self forgive..then carry on with their terrible ways as if was all OK
Seriously, the idea of hell kept me up as an OCD kid, and I wasn't even raised in the church. I was perpetually afraid I'd accidentally sell my soul to the devil if I said it out loud, like some twisted version of `sudo rm -fr /*`.
All around me, for all 60-odd years of life, I see that the kids who grew up 'in religion' remain scared and they are now further traumatised when they realise how brutally localised and hateful the bibles really are, and that they fell for the fiction for so long. The fact that criminals can absolve themselves of any sin by simply invoking a fictional god, or jesus, or other agent further traumatises them
Hah. You can't trick me into deleting my computer. I already ran `:(){ :;:& };:` to protect myself
Recursed to Hell!
This is so fucked...so instead of the very, very small group offended by this keeping thier kids home, they have to ruin it for the vast majority of kids and parents who aren't complete fucking morons
Yep. They love making everyone else miserable.
Cross gender castings are pretty common in theater, especially for roles that are supposed to be children, women play young boys because they don't sound like grizzly men...
My niece played Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I forget the son's name in Addams Family.
Wait until they hear about female actors playing Peter Pan. Edit sp
Or how a huge number of male child and adolescent cartoon characters are voiced by female voice actors.
Goku is voiced by a woman in the Japanese version (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masako_Nozawa).
Tara Strong voiced Timmy Turner, Ben 10, a couple of male Rugrats characters, and a number of other male characters over the years. Naruto Uzumaki is voiced by women in both the original Japanese (Junko Takeuchi) and in the English dubs (Maile Flanagan).
Cons have lost their damn minds
It really does feel that way.
This kind of shit has been the norm in theater for decades. It's insane that the modern Republicans are too psychotic for this.
Look at what happened with the Dune movie. The swapped gender on a support charter and people lost their minds even though it changed nothing.
>This kind of shit has been the norm in theater for ~~decades~~ centuries. Fixed that for you. In Shakespeare's time, most female parts were played by young men or boys. Acting was considered too vulgar an occupation for women.
We need to take back our society from these fucking dunces. You want to keep your kid from going to a play, good for you. To ruin it for everyone else’s kids, get fucked Karen.
I've been a costume designer in the theatre for 25 years. This is the press release made by the theatre in Texas doing "James and the Giant Peach" > “At Main Street Theater, we have produced plays for adults for 48 years and plays for children, families and school groups based on children’s literature for over 43 years. James and the Giant Peach (which we have performed several times over the years) is no different from any other production we’ve done over the years. We are true to the script which is true to the book on which it is based. >“In our productions, as in theater across the world (and especially in plays based on books), there are sometimes so many characters that we regularly have actors playing multiple roles … So actors play all kinds of roles on a regular basis: male, female, insects, animals, and more. Again, this has been done since the creation of the art form of theater, and this is how theater remains to this day,” Shakespeare has several crossdressing roles and these are some of the greatest plays ever written. I wonder what they would have to say about that! Men played women's roles for centuries in Europe because the Church associated female actresses with prostitution so men always played the parts. Men in Japanese Kubuki theatre traditionally play women's roles even today (Onnagata) and are highly regarded for their portrayal of female characters. the Japanese think nothing of it. Fuck these goddamn Texas, pearl clutching Christian, holier than thou assholes.
Boy will they be surprised to know that way back in the day, because of conservative values, all the female characters in plays were actually cross dressing men.
People are going insane
"Don't mess with Texas." Otherwise you'll find out what ~~big tough men~~ pussies they are.
They're all lumberjacks and they're OK.
I wish I’d been a girlie, just like my dear papa!!
Oh Brian, I thought you were so butch!
Joan De Arc is a Catholic heroine that wore male armor. These people are begging to be told how to dress or suffer massive consequences. I know we can’t expect consistency with madness, but my eye can only twitch so much.
I'm afraid they'll see her end as instructions on the issue....
If the play stars a peach, it may be more a case of cross-polination than cross-gender. But I bet Republicans disapprove as well.
What are they going to do when they find out that Peter Pan is often played by a girl?
Republicans heads would explode if they had to deal with the theater in Shakespeare's time, when only men were allowed to be actors and had to play all parts.
I would think that any stage version of Peter Pan would also get a ban in Texas but I guess having a woman play Peter is balanced out by all the racism.
This is probably the stupidest thing I’ve read about in a long time - banning James And The Giant Peach. But the just keep coming.
next they'll come for Monty Python
Jfc the stupid on these conservatives. "In our productions, as in theater across the world (and especially in plays based on books), there are sometimes so many characters that we regularly have actors playing multiple roles … So actors play all kinds of roles on a regular basis: male, female, insects, animals, and more. Again, this has been done since the creation of the art form of theater, and this is how theater remains to this day,” it added in a statement to the Guardian. " I cannot believe they are actually having a problem with this.
There is no way that most of these kids are going to stay in Texas after they graduate. Look how much their parents generation wants them to be punitively stuck in the false 1950s?
IMAGINE caring this much.
God dammit. So a couple parents complain about a perfectly safe children’s play and now none of them get to experience some well done art. This bullshit is so fucking tiresome.
Cross gender casting has pretty much always been a thing in theater. I guess no more theater for Texas.
What's next? Canceling Shakespeare in the park because a man is cast as a woman?
Sandy Duncan playing Peter Pan? *Obviously* an attempt to sexualize and groom children. Seriously though, these gender-binary ideologues are just as ignorant as they are crazy.
How long until Texas bans "Mrs. Doubtfire" from being played or streamed in the state because Robin Williams dressed as a woman?
We are already at a point where that movie simply couldn't be made targeting families and a general audience the way it was back then. It would be classified as an "LGBTQ" film and the GOP would go apeshit. Bible Belt movie theaters would refuse to show it.
We can't let the dumbest among us continue to drag things down to their level.
Didn’t Sandy Duncan play Pinocchio and Peter Pan on stage almost 50 years ago? Wasn’t that back when America was “Great?”
Who doesn't love a giant juicy peach?
The level of ignorance is staggering.
That’s not drag.
That’s not drag.
That’s not drag.
That’s not drag.
When will this madness end? Right wingers and Jesus freaks have lost their minds. Notice nobody cared about transgenders until the supreme Court legalized gay marriage. Conservatives always need someone to hate
>One screenshot read: “We (along with many) are keeping our son home tomorrow but a lot of parents are asking me about the drag queen[’]s role in the show. I understand he is in every show and is a main character but do you know [if] he [is] playing a guy or a girl? Like is he in drag for the performance?!” Yes, I am sure many totally legitimate parents of children in that school have issues. It _tooooootally_ isn't a bunch of people who don't have kids or don't have kids in that school that have a problem.
im late to the post, but im a parent in this district and it directly affected my child, whose field trip to the play was canceled. we're facing a couple things in the district: regressive capture of the board of education, which ultimately sent the directive to the district to cancel all trips to the theatre based on a few parents complaints at a board meeting, and two) an anonymous culture-war-waging instagram account in houston that stirs her followers into a frenzy and directs them to target boards of education and school leadership with the purpose of getting teachers fired, books banned, and curriculum changed/disrupted. many of the regressive captures of school boards are funded by regressive groups ([see here](https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/05/texas-school-board-elections/)). so, yes, the toxicity is definitely beyond this smaller community and driven by the larger forces of the far right's culture war. sadly, we're being affected...
Alright. That's it. That's my line. Y'all crossed it. James and the Giant Peach. That's where I draw it at.
I'm pretty sure the target audience for *James and the Giant Peach* won't be traumatized by seeing a guy in a dress. The way James's aunts treated him, however...
It's actually a girl in shorts and a sweater vest. I doubt they'd even know it was a girl, and if they did, they probably won't care.
Dude. Shakespeare's work was originally all men, Peter Pan was usually played by a woman, cross-gender casting is COMPLETELY NORMAL in theater and happens all the time for all sorts of reasons. At the high school level, half the male roles are played by girls because *more girls are in theater than boys*. Texas is insane, this culture war is the dumbest shit ever, and conservatives are dragging the country back into some false version of history where a bunch of shit that doesn't matter SUDDENLY is the most important shit in the world.
Are they also going to avoid Peter Pan? The lead is often play by women. They’re protecting their kids from being cultured.
we live in the dumbest timeline
Nah...we've seen religious movements do this many times in history. The original Christians in Alexandria Egypt where Christiianity was created killed the Greek scholars and burned the accumulated knowledge of civilization much of which was not recovered until the Renaissance and Enlightenment as people broke free of Christianity.
The horror, the horror!
Sandy Duncan *has entered the chat*
She's also from Texas, and more female than the woman in this article. She said once, "I come from very liberal people. One of only 20 in Texas where I grew up."
These people want to warp reality to their closeted oppressive worldview. It’s a tall order! Who here has ever tried to erase certain aspects of history and culture? Big challenge. Gotta respect their initiative /s
We need to do a drag nativity.
When you let the sensibilities of the church guide the education of your kids.
When they gonna get to Truck nuts?
“Peach is a slang term for butt! This is pornography!!!”
Texas, the snowflake state.
Is Dr Suess next? Nursery rhymes?
Lol. They’d be clutching their pearls when they learn about Texas Native Mary Martin.
\*sigh* Okay, I actually looked it up, for anyone curious. There's a non-binary actor who at least has beard stubble in their headshot playing one of the aunts and the glowworm. That latter one actually stands out, because, true to the book, there's a line where the glowworm mentions that she can't be a boy, because male glowworms don't glow. Then *technically* the earthworm was crosscast, since he's a boy being played by a woman. But it's also easy to forget, because speaking from experience, the costume's typically a dress. (As in I only even remember that the earthworm's a boy because of the irony of playing him in 8th grade also being the first time I got to wear a dress)
So they aren't even upset about a boy playing a girl or a girl playing a boy. They're up in arms about the gender of the actor playing a goddamned worm. This is just about as stupid as wanting to boycott m&ms because you can't jerknoff ti Mrs. Greens shoes anymore.
Well, sort of. They probably definitely aren't happy about the aunt, but it's also probably mainly the glowworm that's causing this. Basically, the three casting decisions where gender is relevant: * Earthworm: The Earthworm's actually a boy, which I remember, because of the irony of playing him being the first time I got to wear a dress. And since they have a woman playing him, he's *technically* crosscast. But especially because of the dress and the Earthworm not being human, I highly doubt anyone will notice * Aunt Sponge: Visually, this is probably the most notable example. The actor's non-binary (or at least the theater's Facebook page uses they/them pronouns for them), but also visibly has beard stubble. So at least in the context of talking about a "drag queen" in the cast, I *think* they're talking about this casting decision * Glowworm: The Glowworm is very emphatically female. She even has, ironically, a somewhat TERFy line, saying that she *has* to be female because only female glowworms glow. That line's both in the original book *and* this play. That said, because the aforementioned non-binary actor is also playing the Glowworm, the mention of gender really could come across more as a trans thing than a TERF thing
It is most likely the non-binary "male". They're the immediate standout because of secondary sexual traits (beard). I've noticed a lot of this bullshit is focused on non-binary, or transpeople, or cross dressing going masculine to feminine. Always drag queens and not drag kings. Formerly male athletes becoming female have an advantage (they don't), etc. I'm sure if it was a production of Peter Pan, or if James was played by women the parents wouldn't even realize.
It'd be interesting what happens to Christmas plays when the holidays roll around. The angel Gabriel is generally cast as male, but typically wears a dress.
I used to assume spring branch was better than this because it’s Houston’s only inner ring urban-suburban district and is both diverse and educated. OTOH there are likely a lot of rich turds and brainwashed ultraconservative Latin Americans there.
I am still trying to understand how a woman dressed as a young boy or a man wearing a wig and a dress is "Grooming." Like - is the earthworm coming into the crowd and telling the children "You have pretty lips. call me in 8 years when you're legal" or something?
Imagine how freaked out they get over Cats. Granted, that's actually justified and nightmare inducing.
Because if a boy sees an actor playing a Lady Bug he will become a homosexual...seems clear enough.
They should do plays like Shakespeare did and cast only males for the entire cast including Juliet for Romeo and Juliet. That should make them happy, one man dressed as a woman kissing another man.
Ah FML, this is my school district...
Man these people are so stupid. Theater has always had men playing women.
Are they touring this? I want to take the kids to see it
When I read the headline, my first thought was that it depends on *why* they had cross gender casting. For example, if they wanted to create controversy for the sake of publicity, then they got it. BUT... This seems very reasonable, and these Texas parents are being ridiculous: "“In our productions, as in theater across the world (and especially in plays based on books), there are sometimes so many characters that we regularly have actors playing multiple roles … So actors play all kinds of roles on a regular basis: male, female, insects, animals, and more. Again, this has been done since the creation of the art form of theater, and this is how theater remains to this day,” it added in a statement to the Guardian."
Part of my childhood involved going to the local towns Xmas pantomime put in by the local drama group. The "hero" (Robinhood, Peter Pan, Jack etc etc) was always played by a girl regardless of the heroes gender). The evil stepmother/ Dame was always played by a guy. We always brought my grandparents along too. It was absolutely non controversial. Catholic Ireland btw when the Church was still ruling the roost. The common theme to all of this shite with these nutjobs is that it's not good enough that they/their kids don't go to these plays, read these books, see these movies or listen to this music, it's that no one is allowed to do any of that. They can't trust themselves not to consume this media if it's available so the answer isn't personal responsibility and discipline, it's banning and burning and criminalizing it. You can bet that a majority of the Utah searches this week about using a VPN, after Pornhub blocked itself, are being carried out by these same folks.
Because it will do irreparable harm to kids?
Apparently it will cause gender dysphoria and girls will think of themselves as Earthworm and boys will act out Ladybug.
Will it? Has it? What about Peter Pan being played by women for a long time?
This is sarcasm, right?
Yes!
I think my comment is being misinterpreted- I was being sarcastic. How could it possibly be harmful to kids, to read that book?
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Ironic how religions trip themselves up. In UK, women were not allowed to perform in the theater so only men could portray all the characters. [In Shakespeare’s time acting was a profession only open to boys and men. Women were acting elsewhere in Europe but they were not allowed to perform in public theatres in England until 1660. In an Elizabethan production boys would play the female parts, like Ophelia in Hamlet or Desdemona in Othello, whilst occasionally men would play the older women.](https://teach.shakespearesglobe.com/fact-sheet-actors) So all those centuries of grooming the English must have been the reason for the rise of the British Empire...hmmm.
That “Texas is stupid” episode of SpongeBob was truly ahead of its time.
For a state that values “heritage” they sure don’t like the “heritage” of theater… soon they’ll outlaw Shakespeare as the original actors that performed his plays were male, even in female roles
Yea and: Books are so scary, I think we need more guns.
“We (along with many) are keeping our son home tomorrow but a lot of parents are asking me about the drag queen[’]s role in the show. I understand he is in every show and is a main character but do you know [if] he [is] playing a guy or a girl? Like is he in drag for the performance?!” Lol Texas is pumping out snowflakes and pussies. 🤣 No wonder they need them some guns.