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7 October 2016

18：00～ 2 hours and a little more

Reading Shakespeare <something like reading cafe>

Reading Othello in Japanese 進行役　宮城嶋遙加さん　解説　鈴木実佳

It was a gathering where the participants read aloud parts of Othello. The text we used was a translation by Kazuko Matsuoka. She gave a lecture on 7 July 2016, preceding the performance by 'Shakespeare for children' company on 30 July at Granship.

In getting ready for the event. something that I had never known became clear to us, Miyagishima san and I, who worked on the text to choose which parts of the text would be good to read aloud. For example, the importance of Emilia as a witness who is on the spot, observing and listening to what is going on, and later exposes what others do not know. As the selection went on, we noticed a line by Emilia suddenly comes in the conversation between Othello and Desdemona. On the pages we chose there is no other mention of Emilia at all. The conversation was solely by the husband and wife. We had to go back a few pages to come across with the stage direction, 'Enter Emilia'. Emilia was there but completely silent before the very line. It is natural that Emilia is there to serve her mistress, being silent.

The almost silent observer Emilia is to be a witness to the tragedy.

The prerapation for the event confirmed this. Reading through the text on my own or being an audience at a performance was not enough to remind me of this. Maybe I had been too careless... .