Male Roles

The Man in the Ring was a fantastic play which brought out the inner emotion of Emile, the main character. The cast was very small in the play which allowed for actors to be several characters. This ability to have multiple characters for one actor was very interesting. Even though the play focused on Emile and the struggles he faced throughout his lifetime through the older and younger actors, I think the actor who played the caregiver and lover of Emile was very important.

In the play, the characters of both the caregiver and lover of Emile were played by the same actor. I think that the creator of the play did a fantastic job of incorporating these two predominantly female roles into the play. Separate, the two roles are still fascinating. We have a caretaker who is a male, assisting Emile in his older age. In Emile's younger stage of life, we have a relationship which was not widely accepted when Emile was alive. When the two are put together and being played by the same actor, it is a bold and rewarding combination. I think that this actor playing both roles flips the stereotype of gender roles. It is not very often that a male is put into a "female" role. I think it was a very thoughtful decision to place these two roles in the play, that we played by the same actor. In my opinion, seeing the transition from female role to female role was very powerful and brought the play an extra subtle sparkle.