{"id":247,"date":"2015-03-05T12:38:23","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T17:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/?p=247"},"modified":"2018-02-05T19:30:48","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T00:30:48","slug":"dunsinane-language-and-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/?p=247","title":{"rendered":"Dunsinane: Language and Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month, on a very short trip to Washington, D.C., I saw Dunsinane<\/em> by David Greig at the Shakespeare Theater Company.\u00a0 The production and performance values were exceptional, but what thrilled me most was hearing an intellectually stimulating, highly entertaining and politically provocative new script.<\/p>\n

The play, in this co-production of the National Theater of Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company, explores the relationship between language and leadership.\u00a0 The plot begins where Shakespeare\u2019s Macbeth ends: Malcolm, son of murdered King Duncan, claims the throne of Scotland.\u00a0 He is a puppet of the English, whose troops are led by Siward, Earl of Northumbria. They invade Scotland and hope to bring peace after conquering Macbeth\u2019s stronghold at Dunsinane.<\/p>\n

Greig\u2019s reframing turns the Macbeth myth on its head. Shakespeare\u2019s Macbeth is a villain and his death restores order.\u00a0 In this play, he has ruled Scotland peaceably for years and when he is killed, chaos ensues. Shakespeare\u2019s Lady Macbeth is a childless virago who goes mad and dies.\u00a0 Here, called Gruach, she is not a witch, but a powerful seductress with a lively sense of humor. Of royal lineage herself, she has ruled by her husband\u2019s side. Her son from a previous marriage is next in line for the crown. And Malcolm isn\u2019t of kingly stock; he seems to be a weak manipulator of words and people.<\/p>\n

The ongoing troubled relationship between Scotland and England is woven into the plot. (Greig was one of the forty-five percent of Scottish people hoping to sever ties with Great Britain in the recent referendum.) The English invaders are unwilling to learn the Gaelic language spoken by the Scots. They disdainfully describe the local soldiers and their uniforms, the people, the politics, the food, the weather, the landscape. Misunderstandings increase, even when trying to speak a universal language of love. The Scots bring the invasion to stalemate with political maneuvers and guerrilla tactics.<\/p>\n

As I watched and listened, I became aware that Grieg was writing about more than eleventh century Scotland or current Scottish\/English antagonisms. He was writing about the failure of leadership in the coalition of western armies that invaded Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

The costuming, music and movement heighten this parallel.\u00a0 The British troops wear the red cross of the crusades on their war torn uniforms.\u00a0 I saw in these costumes the legacy of western invasions of the Middle East.\u00a0 Malcolm wears a long white gown and soft slippers, clothing that could be worn by a sheik. Gruach\u2019s serving maids wear black head coverings that look like the traditional hijab. The onstage combo plays a score with reverberations of Middle Eastern music.\u00a0 The women dance with circular hand gestures that could be a part of either culture.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the language. Grieg examines the ways language both determines and is an expression of how we see the world.\u00a0 Gruach points out to Siward the simplicity of his language: \u201cYour English is a woodworkers tool, Siward,\u201d she says. \u201cHello, goodbye, that tree is green\u2026. Always trying to describe. Throw words at the tree and eventually you\u2019ll force me to see the tree just as you see it. We long since gave up believing in descriptions. Our language is the forest.\u201d*<\/p>\n

In Siward\u2019s semantics, something either is or isn\u2019t. Malcolm challenges this view:\u00a0 “Usually the way we manage this sort of thing in Scotland is\u2026to be very very careful about the way we hear and understand words \u2013 so for example – if a person in Scotland says \u2018it seems a person has died\u2019 we tend to hear that word \u2018seems\u2019 \u2013 \u2018seems\u2019 \u2013 and of course that word makes a difference. \u2026it means that every discussion is fraught and people have to pussyfoot around\u2026.”*<\/p>\n

After a crash course in clan loyalties, Siward travels through the countryside to find out where the Scottish lords stand on who should rule. Malcolm later takes him to task for not hearing what\u2019s being said: \u201cThere are friends who say they\u2019re friends but work against us and others who say they\u2019re enemies but quietly help us\u2026. And into that very delicate filigree you are putting your fist.\u201d*<\/p>\n

Understanding what\u2019s at stake for each faction is an essential part of effective leadership. But if one doesn\u2019t try to comprehend the semantic implications of the factions\u2019 language, how can one understand the factions? Siward is surprised when events do not follow his binary thinking, just as we have been during our military and political efforts in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The effective leader must also know himself.\u00a0 Siward is sure that he is a good and rational commander.\u00a0 Again and again he insists that he is in Scotland to insure peace.\u00a0 Even as he speaks these words, he orders ever more disturbing atrocities in the name of that goal.\u00a0 To him, that is logic. This linguistic absolutism is at the heart of his failure.<\/p>\n

Malcolm, however, describes his own role in the context of seems: “Do you ever ask yourself Siward if it\u2019s possible that I might in fact\u00a0 want to create the appearance of wallowing in venality? \u2026 The chiefs – they think – this king is easy – he won\u2019t cause trouble for us – all he wants is to be left alone to enjoy his wine and his women \u2013 let him be king \u2026 better him than someone strong\u2026. My weakness is my strength.”*<\/p>\n

At the end of play, Siward is at loss. \u201cWhat would you do \u2013 if you were me?\u201d he asks Gruach.\u00a0 She replies, \u201cIf I were you I would not be here\u2026. I would be at home guarding my own land. Not fighting on behalf of some other man\u2019s land. A man too weak and corrupt to hold his own land himself.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Siward cannot let go of the word peace. \u201cIt\u2019s in England\u2019s interest to have peace in Scotland,\u201d he continues. \u201cWe had peace,\u201d Gruach replies, \u201cuntil you came along\u2026. Go home.\u00a0 Don\u2019t waste any more of your english lives here. Go home before you\u2019re driven home\u2026. Go.\u201d*<\/p>\n

David Grieg began writing Dunsinane<\/em> as Saddam Hussein\u2019s regime toppled.\u00a0 He poses important questions to us now. Have we learned from our disastrous engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan how to listen?\u00a0 Do we understand the semantics of what we hear?\u00a0 Can we open our minds to another way of thinking? Can we shift from our either\/or framework to one that encompasses the complexities of seems<\/em>?<\/p>\n

As Israel\u2019s Netanyahu speaks to Congress, President Obama negotiates with Iran, and the loyalties in Syria become more and more difficult to parse, I hope so. Perhaps it will help us re-examine the language that drives us to spend lives and money in fruitless enterprise.<\/p>\n

* Special thanks to Laura Henry Buda of the Shakespeare Theater Company for a copy of the script of Dunsinane<\/em> by David Grieg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last month, on a very short trip to Washington, D.C., I saw Dunsinane by David Greig at the Shakespeare Theater Company.\u00a0 The production and performance values were exceptional, but what thrilled me most was hearing an intellectually stimulating, highly entertaining and politically provocative new script. The play, in this co-production of the National Theater of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=247"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":423,"href":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions\/423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nancyhoufek.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}