Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well has been ‘treated like the ugly stepchild of the Bard’s canon,’ according to dramaturg Jeffrey Ullom, who says the term ‘problem play‘ is often employed ‘when directors and dramaturges find a play too complicated or challenging for their own individual talents.’


Modern life is often a problem play of sorts.  Evidence of this includes the information glutosphere, the complicated health care debate or the nebulous personal career path.  You might expect Shakespeare’s problem plays to be runaway smash hits, channeling the zeitgeist head on.

The problem with problems, though, is that they’re so very problematic.  Problems beget problems.  Complexity can overwhelm. 

A good play, or comparable art production, may indeed be a way to purge the art goer’s inner doubts about his/her preparedness to slay the beast.  Or, citizenry of the denial class may just as soon float off into lesser dramas, where heros and heroines try to convince us decisions are cool and easy for the pure of heart.

I’m not pure of heart.  Are you?  Kudos to you who truthfully say you are.  The rest of us turn to art, making it or seeking it, just to hold our heads above the fray of problem plays, ubiquitous and draining.

Now here’s an Iranian leading lady in a play she didn’t ask for nor choose to shrink from either.

The protesters' daring stunned some observers. At one point Friday, a tall woman holding a green balloon flashed the opposition's signature "V" sign with her fingers as she walked nonchalantly past a sidewalk packed with pro-government rally attendees.
Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times

Prescience was not beyond Will Shakespeare’s slew of gifts.  I leave you with one last All’s Well That Ends Well exegeses.

The fact that this play exalts an undaunted and undeterred woman was a problem for scholars and audiences for many years, but for contemporary theatergoers, the journey of such a character is refreshing and honest.
Jeffrey Ullom, The Cleveland Playhouse

Photo Hamed Saber, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License