Witty fools and foolish wit

The ‘fool’ is no fool — no matter whether s/he is a buffoon in cross garters or the protagonist in a William Shakespeare work. The fool is the provider of comic relief, witticisms and satire, often political in nature. Cultural historians have observed how Shakespeare’s fools may have been written keeping in mind Will Kemp, the actor who played the clown roles at the Globe Theatre, and was a part of Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He left the theatre to pursue public performances independently, and Hamlet’s angry soliloquy on clowns ‘who are too ambitious’ may have been prompted by his exit. Clowning in Shakespeare’s plays evolved from slapstick comedy (Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream turns up wearing donkey’s ears), to the Fool in King Lear who was the melancholic wit, one who served as a dramatic ploy for political critique. A number of productions in India have adapted Shakespeare in the local context. In Rajat Kapoor’s Hamlet and King Lear, for instance, clowns take centre-stage as the protagonists. Sunil Shanbag’s All’s Well That Ends Well is set in 1900s’ India, and draws inspiration from Gujarati Bhangwadi theatre style.