Something pretty lovely just happened on Q&A. 

No, a federal politician wasn’t just eviscerated by some audience member, nor was there a thunderous mic-drop following a panellist’s embarrassment. Instead, the show managed to eke incredibly modern meaning out of its Shakespearean theme through its guests.

Indigenous actor Kylie Farmer and fellow actor and playwright Kate Mulvany took turns reading the Bard’s Sonnet 127. The twist? Farmer read it in Noongar, with Mulvany providing the original English version. 

It showcased the universally resonant nature of Shakespeare’s work. It demonstrated how far his words have travelled. It showed, once again, that actors can find new and valid interpretations, hundreds of years and thousands of kilometres after he put pen to paper. 

Oh, it was also super sweet to listen to:

The sonnet itself deals with changing perceptions of beauty, making particular mention of blackness when it reads “in the old age black was not counted fair, or if it were, it bore not beauty’s name.” Farmer said she hoped Shakespeare was actually “lobbying” for our modern perception that black is beautiful:

What followed was a bloody fantastic discussion on how, well, progressive his words seem. We could do with more of this and fewer canned-answer politicians, tbh. 

Source and photo: Q&A / Twitter.

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