The World of Stage

Everybody remembers the famous monologue delivered by Jaques, in As You Like It, Act 2, scene 7, which begins with Shakespeare’s philosophy, “All the world’s a stage, and all men and women merely players. How true is this speech with regards to the world? Well for some it is as true as the law of gravity and for others it might not hold any ground. However, what if we reverse this metaphor and try to analyze and examine the world of stage, what shall we come across?

The World of Stage is as fantastical as it is real. It confines in itself all the possibilities and the limitations of the actual world. On stage, a play can reflect the ongoing social scenario or distort reality and completely present the opposite or the far-fetched. For eg. On one hand we have, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and on the other we have ‘Doll’s House’. Both these plays present two ends of a spectrum, the former employing use of the mystical and magical element and the other giving us a picture of the Real world as it is in actuality. Therefore, the world of stage is as close to the real world as it can be away from it.

The world of stage is much more and beyond what meets the eye. Behind the spectacle of the stage, acting, props, music, art and other things, lie the incessant rehearsals, mind-boggling directions, tiring run-throughs, and finally the final performance that is critiqued or applauded by the audience. Hence, the world of stage is no different from the actual world full of trials, tribulations, victory, defeats, happiness, sorrows, etc. Therefore, can we say that all the world’s a stage or a stage in itself is a world? Think about it.