sábado, 20 de septiembre de 2014

GAME OF WANDS PREQUELS: THE PLAY

In every high-school fictional universe, there must be The Play.
In the Game of Wands prequels, specifically Winter Roses, The Play, done as a conscience-catching number for most of Hogwarts (Tywin Lannister and Robert Baratheon being the foremostly intended targets), is the highlight of the Oberyn arc (it was mentioned at the start of the arc and staged in the second chapter/episode from the end, "The Night of the Tempest").
The script chosen, greenlighted by a reluctant Tywin Lannister after some coaxing from both Olenna Tyrell and the author (the de facto headmaster disapproved, at first, of a Muggle story)...
was the Oberyn Martell retelling of the Othello story, with elements from both versions by William Shakespeare and Giuseppe Verdi.
Notably, Bianca's character was present in person and had a larger presence than in Shakespeare's play (but a ghost in the Verdi opera) unlike Desdemona's lord father, a ghost character mentioned by the cast in slightly negative terms (as a disguised "take that" to Tywin Lannister)
Costumes were hand-sewn taking inspiration from various nations and decades of the seventeenth century. Ripe cactus pears were put under the costumes at certain points, where the characters would be injured, to simulate blood.
The writer of the script had cast himself in the male lead role, referred to as "the Dornishman" or more frequently "the Dark One" (instead of "the Moor") and his first love in the female lead role.
All of the cast were scouted for their intellectual and artistic prowess. The youngest member of the cast, a first-year Renly Baratheon, was discovered by chance and (according to Oberyn) he had the talent to pursue a career in the performing arts.
A slightly shy Rhaegar, cast as Lieutenant Cassio, was endowed with real liquid courage during the "kegger scene" to keep his performance up, and thus, slightly intoxicated for real (nothing to worry about)!
The cathartic tragedy was put on stage as this, with a minimalistic cast (not to mention the cactus pears, the firewhisky, or the tweaking of the original script):

  • Othello: Oberyn Martell (post-Durmstrang gap year, 22 years old, in Spanish Tercio uniform)
  • Desdemona: Cersei Lannister (Slytherin, 16 years old, in French court lady's gowns and in French 1680s uniform)
  • Iago: Jaime Lannister (Gryffindor, 16 years old, in Swedish Green Brigade uniform, which includes a kilt)
  • Emilia: Elia Martell (Ravenclaw, 18 years old, in Swedish camp-follower frock)
  • Cassio: Rhaegar Targaryen (Ravenclaw, 17 years old, in French 1680s uniform)
  • Bianca: Lyanna Stark (Gryffindor, 16 years old, in maidservant frock)
  • Roderigo: Renly Baratheon (Slytherin, 7 years old but in a potion-induced age-up to 11, in French 1680s uniform)
  • The Former Governor (composite of Montano and Ludovico): Jon Connington (Gryffindor, 16 years old, in French Richelieu-era uniform)
  • Directed and produced by: Ellaria Sand
The play was followed by a short extra number performed by Rhaegar and Lyanna, of their favourite fairytale "Ice and Snow", with the following cast (they still wore the costumes they had worn in Othello):
  • Elliot: Rhaegar Targaryen
  • Freedert: Lyanna Stark
After both plays, which were vividly and formidably performed, a series of both expected and unexpected consequences followed the events on stage and those offstage:

  • Since Tywin Lannister declined Oberyn's offers of love more fiercely, the Dornishman realized his first love would go nowhere, put an end to all of his new relationships, including his engagement to Cersei, and left the Hogwarts campus (having left a letter of apology and a sunflower for Cersei, and the same letter and flower species for Jaime), kissing his younger sister goodbye, giving her the handkerchief, and wishing her the best of luck. Both Oberyn and Elia wept intensely at their farewell.
  • Elia broke with Jaime, having become aware of her intellectual equality with Rhaegar, who became her official fiancé (like the case of the Princess in the Snow Queen Fourth Story (PRINCE & PRINCESS- A handsome couple, newly married and very happy):
  1. The Princess (Prinsessen), who desires a prince-consort as intelligent as she, and who finds herself at home in her palace. She has got warm, rich clothing, servants, and a golden coach.
  2. The Prince (prinsen), formerly a poor young man, who comes to the palace and passes the test set by the princess to become prince (the new prince of the land).
  • The Lannister siblings reconciled and consoled each other with one another. 
  • Renly, aside from discovering his gift for the performing arts, realized that he was terribly missing Oberyn, which led to a prelude to the awakening of his orientation.
  • And, most importantly... Rhaegar and Lyanna became closer to each other.
The episodes of the Oberyn arc:
  • The Dornish are Coming
  • Rarities
  • My Fair Warrior, Part I
  • My Fair Warrior, Part II
  • The Night of the Tempest (play staged)
  • A World of Sighs

3 comentarios:

  1. I: but first... what did u think of giving Rhaegar/Cassio some liquid courage (not that much) for self-confidence?
    Paudel: I think he needs it, isn't it? I am not a very great fan of Cassio in Othello, but here with some liquid courage, I think I'll appreciate his character.

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  2. i: And the supporting cast?
    Paudel: It's as the play requires. Are you planning to introduce this play in the same way as the original "with dialougues" or as in the form of stories just as the Ringstetten Saga.

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  3. Paudel on the cast: Well, it's fine, isn't it? The castings of Oberyn is somehow expected but you shock me by the casting of Jamie and Cersei (by the way, it isn't a kind of shocking shock, it's a kind of wow shock! :D)
    I: shocking, but I gave my comments. I cast Jaime because they're namesakes (both their names mean "James") and because of the Lannister's charachter depths. as well as his state "in the shade" of Rhaegar, Robert... and, well, Oberyn. He's gonna be the kingslayer soon, so showin him his dark side was convenient.
    Paudel: What about giving Desdemona's role to Cersei? Desdemona, I believe is a lot fairer (in terms of morality) than Cersei, don't you think so?
    I: it's just partly irony, partly a macguffin because of Jaime's, Rhaegar's, and Oberyn's feelings for her and her feelings for them.
    Paudel: Well, I can also understand that the young Cersei wasn't as wicked as she is now. We can consider her in that aspect. Yes.
    I: and posh daddy's girl as well ;)

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