"Not so much for the carnal stuff, but for the way every word he utters is taken to be as beautiful as he is. Intoxicated by their admiration, his admirers leap headfirst into the still waters of his pronouncements apparently certain of hidden depths thereunder. So it has been with the reaction to how he comforted his director when she confessed, in so many words, that she couldn't always grasp what Shakespeare was on about."
"There there, quoth Mescal: Listen, if Shakespeare is performed right, you don't have to understand what they're saying. You feel it in the body, the language is written like that. You know what that is, don't you? That's balls, that's what that is. Of course you need to understand what's being said and what's going on. At least I do. I've often been told not to trouble myself with such trifling details."
"It makes me feel confused, rather inadequate, frustrated, even angry, ultimately disengaged and therefore bored. Just plain bored. It's different with visual art, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that I know nowt about it. Here it is liberating to be able to just stand there and take in a picture or sculpture or installation of some kind and see how it makes me, yes, feel."
Wanting to be Paul Mescal reflects fascination with charismatic actors whose every utterance is assumed as beautiful as their appearance. Admirers project depth onto his remarks and take solace in his claim that Shakespeare can be felt in the body without full verbal comprehension. The speaker rejects that approach and insists on understanding words and plot to engage with plays and films. Visual art permits emotional reception without technical knowledge, but dramatic works require narrative grasp. Somerset Maugham's idea that plot is a lifeline underlines the need for clarity. Lack of plot comprehension results in confusion, disengagement and boredom.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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