Macbeth -- Bard on the Beach

Story in 2 sentences:

Three witches tell Macbeth he's going to be king, so he kills his way to the throne.  His wife is a piece of work.

People who should see this show:

People with deep voices

People who need a nap

Well, someone must have said it backstage. 

Macbeth.  Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth.

I had been looking forward to this one.  I enjoy Colleen Wheeler and Duncan Fraser, I think Lois Anderson is the bomb, and I have always liked this play.  Hubby had also been looking forward to it; it's short. Amazing how the perfect ingredients can still make a horrible dish.

Let's start with the performances.

Colleen Wheeler has a lovely resonant voice, and she certainly knows it.  By her second line, I had begun to understand what had annoyed me so much about the witches:  she had laid down the gauntlet and they had accepted the challenge.  They were having a resonant voice contest.  Combined with Bob Frazer's incredible dramatic technique - look noble and speak slowly (I once heard a director accuse an actor of being a black hole on stage, which perfectly describes Frazer's performance) - their scenes were interminable.  I swear they ran out of underscoring. 

The rest of the cast had their problems as well:  Anton Lipovetsky's wide- eyed Malcolm, for example.  I had been pleased to see him cast in a Bard show, having liked his performance in Rent a few years ago, but he was a disappointment as Malcolm:  uninteresting histrionics combined with focus- pulling mugging.  Speaking of mugging, John Murphy, playing several smaller parts, firmly believed he was the only one onstage.  His cookie-cutter porter was annoyingly out of place in this plodding dramatic work.

Plodding, you say?  Let's talk about direction.  First of all, a purely technical note:  the stage is a thrust, and it was blocked for a proscenium.  Which alienates half of the audience.

Artistically, it was uninspired. 

Everyone knows Macbeth.  We've all studied it.  The reason to see it at Bard is to see something you haven't noticed before, and, hopefully, a special little twist that gives you a new insight.  The new thing I noticed was that there are an awful lot of monologues.  Seriously.  That's it.  The design was similarly uninspired.  In that there was basically no set design and the drab costumes (meant to highlight the somber mood of the piece) highlighted only the boredom one felt as one waited for intermission.  And then curtain.  No one would ever put up with this if it were a contemporary playwright, but it seems that every year there is at least one Bard director who doesn’t see the need to do any real work.

Don't bother.  Save your money for The Merry Wives of Windsor.  Plays until September 20th.

Some highlights:

Craig Erickson's Banquo:  by far the strongest of the cast.

The witches turning invisible:  that was pretty cool.

Banquo's ghost scene:  really well done, and the only reason I came back for the second act (turned out there was nothing worthwhile to see after that, though).

The Comedy of Errors -- Bard on the Beach

Story in 2 Sentences:
Two sets of twins separated at birth are unknowingly reunited. They get mistaken for each other before it's all sorted out.

People who should see this show:
Everyone. People who grumble when directors "do things to Shakespeare" (i.e. my hubby) will grumble a lot, then grudgingly admit they enjoyed it anyway. People who don't usually like Shakespeare will find it accessible.


David Mackay's Comedy of Errors is fun. The story is fun, the production is fun, the acting is fun. The thing is, it's a comedy, with an unbelievable storyline and generally broad characters who do unbelievable things. But the audience buys into it anyway. Because it's fun.

It is filled with self-referential gags: In the middle of the second half, a vendor sells "rats on a stick" calling to mind how different an experience Shakespeare was in Shakespearean times (the audience had the option of buying tomatoes from vendors to throw at performers); an actor mimes talking on a cell phone, which is, I suppose, the contemporary interruption analogous to the bustle and chatter my English teachers told me was going on in the Globe. But these gags are intelligent, and, I found, useful. There was never a chance for my mind to wander during lulls of sing-song acting -- I was constantly snapped to attention, and therefore never missed an important plot element in a somewhat confusing play -- and, grumble though he may, neither did hubby.

The design is also self-referential: a puppet theatre, Queen Elizabeth as Solinus, sound effects ranging from trumpets to demonic laughter. This is a production for people who are interested in the history of English theatre, but does not exclude those who aren't in the know. Consider the levels in one sight gag:

Solinus, duke of Ephesus is played by Christopher Gaze in Queen Elizabeth I's iconic dress.

Funny to people who aren't in the know: an old guy in a dress.
Nod to historical accuracy: Female parts were played by men in dresses in Elizabethan England
Contemporary commentary on this gender role: It's a male part being played by a man in a dress
A reminder of the political context of the time of writing: Elizabeth was ruler of England, and did not hesitate to order death when it suited her politically, as Solinus will do if Egeon can't pay his fine.
Further nod to historical accuracy: Elizabeth, reigning queen of England, referred to herself as "prince"
In-joke: Solinus, the duke who dispenses justice, is played by the artistic director of Bard on the Beach

There are more layers -- I thought of another but forgot it, and I'm sure there are more in-jokes that I'm not privy to, more contemporary or historical commentary that I'm not up on. Do I feel smart for having understood all of these layers at once? Absolutely. Would I have enjoyed it if I hadn't? Absolutely. And this is one sight gag that occurs at the very beginning and end of the play -- there are more, each one as thoughtful -- if I didn't think I'd bore you all to tears I would write about them all.

See the show. You'll like it even if you don't want to. Plays until September 26


Some highlights:
Colleen Wheeler's Adriana: perfect
Shawn Macdonald's Dromio of Ephesus: very well done
Kevin MacDonald's Antipholus of Syracuse: well acted, and part of a brilliant comic duo
Christopher Gaze's Solinus: an enjoyable camio
Bob Frazer's Antipholus of Ephesus: the only truly repugnant character in the show, Frazer actually made him sort of likeable
Ryan Beil's Dromio of Syracuse: the other half of a brilliant comic duo, and just as funny as a solo act
Jennifer Lines' Luciana: funny sidekickery at its best
Amber Lewis' Courtesan: brings life to a small role -- outstanding

Othello -- Bard on the Beach

Story in 2 Sentences:
Iago hates Othello, so he fools him into believing his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on him. It works, and Othello kills her.

People who should see this show:
Anyone who loves Shakespeare
Anyone who loves great acting



Dean Paul Gibson's production of Othello is simple and classical. Nothing to write home about, except that such simplicity demands perfection in performance. Gibson trusts the cast to deliver, and they do. Every part is played beautifully, and the story, running through themes of passion, obsession, class, and race, shines.

Well worth seeing. Plays until September 26

Some highlights:
Michael Blake's Othello: brilliant
Bob Frazer's Iago: excellent
Jennifer Lines' Emilia: subtle, with a build up to a stunning performance in act 5
Naomi Wright's Desdemona: beautiful, layered and believable