Historic theater linked to Shakespeare himself and his troupe accused of falsifying history – Theater reckons Shakespeare himself would have agreed
A show at the Globe Theater featuring her caused outrage in the UK Joan of Lorraine as a non-binary gender. In the new controversial work titled “I Joan” pronouns are used “they” and “them” not “he” or “she”.
The historical theater, which was associated with him Shakespeare and his theater group, is accused of “falsifying history”
Reacting, emeritus professor Frank Fourenti told the Daily Mail that the theatre’s decision was “a violation of the meaning of history”.
“Playwrights are allowed to take some poetic license, but I think what’s interesting about the play is that it falls very much into the idea of rewriting history.”
“Reinterpretation violates historical reality. It is a plundering of history to legitimize views in today… Someone like Joan of Lorraine would have no idea what ‘non-binary’ is. It’s a re-characterization of something that didn’t even exist at the time. It completely defeats the point of the story – it’s a projection of a fantasy backwards,” noted Fourenti.
“I imagine that in time someone will suggest that the Jane Austen was transgender or George Eliot was non-binary’ he added pointedly.
“For French patriots, Joan of Lorraine is a very special person. Her role was even more heroic because she was a woman,” he pointed out.
The theater defended the production, even considering that he himself Shakespeare would have agreed
Defending the show, writer Charlie Josephine said of the production: “It’s going to be a big, sweaty, queer, revolution, rebellion, a festival of joy.”
“It’s a big story, on a big stage, Joan of Lorraine was this incredible historical figure,” he added.
Speaking of Joanna herself, she said “she was this young working-class person who was transcending gender at a time when it was really dangerous, and I immediately felt that I could relate to that,” noted Charlie Josephine.
“I was identified as female at birth. I am non-binary, I am from a working class background. I have often felt that I had something to say and was not given permission to say it. So, to have the opportunity to write a play about a character, I thought it was too good to be true.”
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