hot take. but.
“updating the story” is not enough of a reason to make a production modern. having a traditional production is 100% fine and not a better or worse idea than a modern production. the reason why some modern productions are bad is not because they’re modern, but because they’re full of random ideas with not much point. they’re missing a clear, dedicated purpose and the ability to convey information to an audience. this is not an inherent characteristic of modern productions, but an issue of skill, effort, and boredom on the director’s part.
previously, this was not as apparent in the quality of directors because they had, simply put, less to do in traditional productions. and that’s ok. by using more of the original instructions and material, there was simply less to define, and to have to demonstrate clearly to an audience that they hadn’t thought of before. it doesn’t make them worse directors in any way. we’ll just never know how they would’ve coped with having twice the amount to explain in a production. and nowadays, there are people good enough to make good modern productions. unfortunately, more people than are actually good at this think that they are good at this.
