Last Sunday was the perfect day to search for Shakespeare.
Raindrops dripped from pewter-grey skies on a misty morning the
world’s greatest playwright might have experienced himself in Tudor
times.
Last Sunday was the perfect day to search for Shakespeare. Raindrops dripped from pewter-grey skies on a misty morning the world’s greatest playwright might have experienced himself in Tudor times.
As I strolled through the muddy lanes of “Willington” – a make-believe village that’s the site of the Northern California Renaissance Faire at Casa de Fruta – I saw an assortment of faces belonging to colorful characters William Shakespeare might have easily recognized in Elizabethan England.
A 16th-century sea captain selling “spices from the Indies” recommended, with a nodding wink to me, some “loverly mermaids” available for “yer pleasurin’ just up yar street.”
A perfumed gypsy wrapped in brilliant scarfs tried to lure me into her fortune-telling tent to forecast my destiny. (“I make my own destiny,” I said, declining her kind offer.)
A snack-stand woman with a half-eaten pickled cucumber stuffed in her plump cleavage tried to convince me to, er, well … (I now blush). “Take a bite, young lad – first bite’s free!” she playfully encouraged while strutting her sour goods. Observing some other fellow had previously sampled the merchandise, I declined her kind offer. I bought from her a sugar-and-cinnamon pretzel instead.
Through the streets of Willington, I found myself streaming through a kaleidoscope of quaint characters. I witnessed hundreds of modern-day people costumed up to pretend they’d all traveled back 400 years to Renaissance England. “All the world’s a stage,” whispered a voice inside my skull, “And all the men and women merely players.”
While I chatted in an oak glade with various Elizabethan nobles, William Shakespeare himself recognized me. (I’d interviewed him for an article a few weeks ago.)
“My friend!” he called in gracious greeting. “Good day to you, sir.”
“Master Shakespeare,” I said, doffing my baseball cap and giving a cordial bow in return.
OK. I confess. This wasn’t really the famous “Immortal Bard” (aka “the Swan of Avon). As you well know, William Shakespeare is no longer composing great plays. William Shakespeare, in actual fact, is decomposing. The famous poet died nearly 400 years ago.
This “William Shakespeare” is portrayed by San Ramon’s David Carter, an accountant and die-hard fan of the famous dramatist.
The pretend Shakespeare and I wandered the streets of Willington, discussing the impact of Shakespeare’s words on our own 21st century world. By the faire’s Maypole Carousel – as riders screamed in joy from the tummy-churning ride – I told Carter about a little theory I’d recently concocted.
“Romeo and Juliet isn’t just a tragic love story,” I said. “It’s Shakespeare’s most political play.”
Carter shot me an uncertain look.
I continued, “See, in the play, there’s two warring houses in ‘fair Verona.’ There’s the House of the Capulets and the House of the Montagues. They have an ancient grudge, a political power struggle over some matter long-forgotten. They’re a mirror for the world Shakespeare lived in. England also had two houses – religious rivals – at war with each other. The Catholics and the Protestants.”
Intrigued, Carter stroked his chin.
“Maybe Shakespeare’s tragic play is really a political warning to England,” I explained. “At the end, the feud causes Romeo and Juliet to sacrifice themselves. Maybe Shakespeare was subtly telling his audience, ‘Hey, learn to live in peace and love, or you’re gonna lose the most precious thing you have – your children.'”
Carter grinned. “You might have something there.”
As a drizzle started, we continued walking the streets discussing the Bard and his world. A peasant woman carrying an old broom approached us. “Clean your shoes, me Lord?” she asked, pointing at my muddy sneakers.
Shakespeare might have met such a poor creature on the streets of London.
But what might Shakespeare think of us modern folk if – in some Midsummer’s Night Dream – he magically found himself walking the downtown streets of Hollister, Gilroy, Morgan Hill or San Juan Bautista?
Being a country lad himself, I’m sure he’d understand the character of the people of the South Valley region. He’d feel right at home here among the pastoral scenes of Central Coast California.
But he might also be bitterly disappointed with our brave new world.
Four hundred years since his time, we moderns suffer the same foibles as the people of his age. We still wage wars over ancient grudges. Angry feuds seemingly never end.
He might consider America’s current conflicts, and he’d sadly note the deaths of countless youths from our war with Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Two households, both alike in dignity …” he’d quote himself. “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny.”
At the end of “Romeo and Juliet,” over the bodies of their children, the Capulets and the Montagues embrace as brothers. A new hope rises from the blood.
From the tragic suicide of two star-crossed lovers comes the promise of peace. We of the modern world would do well to realize the valuable lesson two houses of fair Verona learned at a princely price.
The counterfeit Shakespeare and I continued strolling the streets of Willington. He discussed the Elizabethan world while I politely pretended to listen. But I felt myself entranced by the rich pageantry of people wandering the Renaissance Faire village.
The real Shakespeare, I’m sure, might also feel truly amazed how folks have changed so little since his era.
What he wrote of humanity, we continue to be.
Shakespeare’s stories hold a mirror up to our conflicted 21st century.
They reflect the dignity of our common humanity. A search for Shakespeare today proves what Ben Jonson, his cantankerous colleague and devoted friend, proclaimed at the demise of the master of words and worlds: “He was not of an age, but for all time.”
Northern California Renaissance Faire
Get a taste of England in Shakespeare’s time.
Remaining Days: Oct. 23 and 24 10am to 6pm at Casa de Fruta on Highway 152.
Adult general admission: $20
Children 5-11 years: $10
Children under 5: free
General Parking: free; VIP Parking: $10
Web site: www.norcalrenfaire.org
