Propeller's Henry V

In 2007 I spent a whirlwind month traveling with Chapman University on their annual London Theatre Tour.  During that time I saw at least one theatre production a day, sometimes two.  At the time I was not an avid blogger, but I did keep a written journal of my experiences as I saturated myself in the theatrical world of London.

I remember one play in particular: The Taming of the Shrew at the Old Vic. The production, presented by an all male ensemble, shed new light on the play for me. While maintaining the inherent comedic humor of the play, I found the transformation of Kate from a shrew to an obedient woman tragic and devastating. I thought, "this is how it should be played," and have compared every production I have seen to this one ever since. Little did I know that I would return to see this theatre company again in action.

Last night I was privileged to see Propeller's production of Henry V at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. This production is edgy, fresh, and energetic. Unlike the Taming I saw a few years ago, the women roles served merely as comic relief, but perhaps that is unsurprising considering the way in which Shakespeare crafted this play around the lives of soldiers.

Duguld Bruce-Lockhart plays a convincing, yet unsympathetic king. I found his vocal quality and energy thrilling. However, I had difficulty connecting to his character.  The best thing about Propeller seems to be the ensemble as a whole, rather than individual performances. Each ensemble member pulls his own weight through song, dance, feats of strength, and community. In true "band-of-brothers" fashion, the chorus became the ultimate story-tellers.

Check out the Unofficial Blog to keep up to date on all of their happenings and press.

Visit Propeller's Official Website.

Rereading Measure for Measure

A really great article by my friend Dave Paxton on my favorite play, Measure for Measure. A must read:
http://bloggingshakespeare.com/sexing-isabella-and-angelo

Love's Cure - Play Reading

I was invited along to a cast reading of Love's Cure, or The Martial Maid by John Fletcher - a gem of a play my friend José A. Pérez Díez has been editing as part of his PhD research at the Shakespeare Institute.  Robert Ball is directing a staged reading of the newly edited script in original practice with an all male cast.  Luckily, despite my womanly figure, a key cast member was missing from the rehearsal and I was afforded the opportunity to read a part.

This was my first encounter with the play.  I enjoyed the gender reversals and utter state of confusion presented in this five act comedy.  There were many laughs to be had, a few awkward moments, and hilarious mispronunciations - all of which resulted in a rather charming evening. I am looking forward to watching the process unfold from the sidelines and the final performance in July.

Read A Bit About the Play and follow The Love's Cure Blog.

Romeo and Juliet in Bagdad

Here in Stratford-upon-Avon an amazing feat is taking place. The World Shakespeare Festival is bringing the diversity of the world theatre to this tiny riverside town.

Now playing at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Romeo and Juliet in Bagdad tells William Shakespeare's classic tragedy as a conflict between the Shiite and Sunni people.  Romeo and Juliet must battle not only their warring families, but also survive against the backdrop of a country in conflict.  An Iraqi theatre company performs the play in Arabic with English subtitles.

The play departs from Shakespeare's story at several points, including the final scene where Romeo and Juliet do not take their own lives, but rather have their lives ripped from them by a terrorist's action. This adaptation is startling, scary, and raw.

While a bit heavy handed in its interpretation, Romeo and Juliet in Bagdad communicates R&J in ways that incite new meanings and will change how its audiences think about the play.

Want to read more? Check out Year of Shakespeare, a website dedicated to documenting the World Shakespeare Festival.

Two great articles are already up:
Year of Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad
Year of Shakespeare: Richard II

As You Like It Read Through

Last night we had our first read through for As You Like It.  We have a large energetic cast, ripe with talent. I find the play very challenging both in language and intent. Rosalind is such a multifaceted character that I can scarcely keep up with her. It was a pleasure to sit around last night and have a good laugh with everyone - something that Institute Players have not done up to this point, with so many tragedies in the season thus far. I am looking forward to blocking rehearsals next week. Now to begin the process of memorizing my lines... Yikes!

First York Cycle Performance!

Yesterday evening we had our first performance of The Spicer’s The Annunciation and Visitation of Mary from the 15th century York cycle plays. Jason invited his supervisor and fellows to the event. We listened to a phenomenal 20 minute seminar on performance modernization of medieval drama, given by our lovely director. We then performed the piece two ways: once in original practice and once in modern practice.

The audience filled out forms to document their experience of the performance. Hopefully Jason received adequate feedback for the performance.

Our final and most important performance will take place on May 18th to finalize Jason's project. I am looking forward to returning to the rehearsal room to make changes based on the feedback that was received. I have been having a great time working on this small piece of medieval drama. If you are here in Stratford, please join us on May 18th in the Shakespeare Institute Hall for the final performance, time TBA.

Shakespeare's 448th Birthday!

Today is Shakespeare's official birthday.  However, the town of Stratford-upon-Avon is quiet today.  I suppose the weekends parades, parties, and other festivities has made us all a little tired. We all returned to our work today. I have spent the last 10 hours working on my essays for my Thursday deadline. They are mostly complete, though I need to proof and edit them.

I am still thinking about Saturday, the most magnificent day I have spent here in Stratford so far. Not only am I living my dream - to live and study Shakespeare in England - but I also have the best friends imaginable. Saturday was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed ice-cream and boat races, in addition to participating in Shakespeare's Birthday Celebrations. I will always remember the 44th birthday of William Shakespeare will fondness.