shakespeare

Is this a parody or an adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most gruesome plays? Well it is both I think. Shakespeare himself (Kazz Leskard) makes many flavoured directorial appearances throughout the show, trying his best to keep the vision of the play on a “happy” path. That’s a tall order, for this story has more abominations per act than any other of Shakespeare’s works. Not much love and joy to draw from. Director Andy Toth and the amazing cast knock this side-splitting musical out of the park. The singing, lyrics, dance choreography, and musical...

Adapted and performed by stage veteran Clayton Jevne, fans of Shakespeare and history may enjoy this solo play. Jevne has adapted his script from Robert Nye’s acclaimed novel. I haven’t seen the character of Falstaff on stage before nor read about him. By reputation, I believed him to be the charismatic, jovial, and bawdy mentor of the future King Henry V. In this production, Falstaff seems ordinary and perhaps it is partly his advanced age that has sapped the legendary character’s irrepressible life force.

The...

On the long weekend I saw Hamlet and Man Of Steel. Bizarrely enough, the two were remarkably similar. Plots featuring a well-known hero, vile evildoers, innocent victims - all leading to lots of death and destruction. Each production had a strong creative team which offered stunning designs and visual images. Yet in each case, the resulting product was a mess. In trying to honour a wide variety of themes, the creators of both pieces let the work get away from them.

Directed by Kim Collier, Hamlet at Bard on the Beach features Jonathon Young in the ico...

Jonathon Young as Hamlet at Bard on the Beach 2013

The Maltese Bodkin (abridged) – one cup Shakespeare, half a cup of Bogart then stir...

Play it again, Bill

The hypothesis that the works of Shakespeare were penned by someone other than the Bard himself is hardly new or shocking; the academic world is fairly glutted with advocates of the point. Monster Theatre’s The Shakespeare Show offers a fairly lighthearted approach to this age-old scandal, telling a theoretical tale of how the talented and conflicted Earl of Oxford used an illiterate horseholder named Shakespeare to vicariously express his theatrical passions.

The Shakespeare Show

Raven for a Lark, the dark, two-person drama by Elise Newman presented by quoi quoi quoi, is stirring, disturbing and deeply effective. In it, two actors play two actors talking about their opening night in Titus Andronicus. Of all Shakespeare’s tragedies, this one is generally agreed to be his most violent work.

raven for a lark

Amongst the sacred cows of theatre, Shakespeare undoubtedly sits atop them all.  His work has been some of the most frequently adapted, borrowed, and updated by contemporary storytellers across all media and failing to do justice to them is guaranteed to bring forth the ire of audiences and critics alike. In many respects, Bear Production’s adaptation of A Midsummer’s Night Dream, simply titled The Dream, walks on thin ice but ultimately delivers an entertaining and noteworthy show. For that reason, one cannot help but feel they pass the threshold of success - if tenuously.

Ryan Ward as Oberon and Alana Bridgewater as Titania; photo credit: Andy McCraw

Sassy Sonnets is on stage courtesy of the newly formed International Storytelling Company (ISC)  at the Havana Theatre.

Sassy Sonnets

In a published conversation included in the program for Theatre at UBC’s production of Romeo and Juliet, director Catriona Leger uses the word “fun” four times.

Is that Sister Lawrence in the back? Megs Chenosky and Jameson Parker with Barbara Kozicki doing some fire dance behind them. Photo Tim Matheson

The Winter’s Tale, currently in production at Studio 58, is supposed to be one of Shakespeare’s “problem” plays.

Benjamin Elliot in Studio 58's The Winter's Tale, photo: David Cooper

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