****
(out of 5)
Reviewed by James Karas
You look at the 2016 list of productions at
the Stratford Festival and see Shakespeare (4), musicals (2), classical (3),
modern (3) and a World Premiere (1). You applaud enthusiastically. Then you see
Shakespeare
in Love in a North American Premiere. Is that the 1998 movie with
Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes adapted for the stage in a moment of
desperation and utter failure of original creativity?
Please, gimme a break.
Well, eat your words and your ham sandwich
and treat yourself to a literate, hilarious and thoroughly enjoyable romp in
Elizabethan England. Yes, Lee Hall has adapted Marc Norman’s and Tom Stoppard’s
screenplay but he has done an expert job of contraction and conversion without
taking anything away from the original and indeed adding something to it.
Members
of the company in Shakespeare in Love. Photography by David Hou
The main plotline involves the beautiful
Viola (Shannon Taylor), the daughter of Sir Robert de Lesseps (Michael
Spencer-Davis) who has money but no social status. He wants her to marry the
boorish, titled but broke Lord Wessex (Rylan
Wilkie). She loves poetry, the theatre and acting which lead her to the theatre
and into the arms of the upstart playwright from Stratford-upon-Avon.
The play moves quickly through the theatrical
world of 1590’s London where we meet familiar names like Marlowe, Alleyn, John Webster,
Henslowe, Burbage and a number of fictional characters. Backstage rivalries, auditions,
theft of scripts, financial skullduggery and performance terror all combine to
produce laughter and simple joy, all associated with the love of theatre and
poetry.
Luke Humphrey as Shakespeare has a writer’s
block can’t write a single line of a sonnet or come up with a scene for his new
play Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s
Daughter which he has sold to two producers. Enter Thomas Kent who turns
out to be the lovely Viola who can read poetry. Humphrey gives us all the
energy, guile and even deviousness that Shakespeare needs to survive in the
rough and tumble world of the theatre.
Shannon Taylor reminds us (not that we need
it) why we are in love with Shakespeare’s poetry as we admire her pluck and
intelligence as a true lover of theatre and language. No wonder Shakespeare
falls in love with her.
There is no shortage of characters and superb
actors who portray them that make us laugh. Stephen Ouimette is hilarious as
the producer Henslowe who has to pay up for money that he borrowed to avoid
further methods of persuasion (a.k.a. torture) by his lender Fennyman. Poor
Henslowe gives a role to his tailor who has a serious speech impediment and
cannot utter a line. Reason: he owes him money.
Fennyman the money lender (played superbly by
Tom McCamus) may be a thug but he is a funny one especially when he is given a
part in a play.
Shannon Taylor as Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love.
Photography by David Hou.
Shakespeare’s rival and at the time superior
playwright, Christopher Marlowe (Saamer Usmani) is a sneaky presence who
nevertheless helps the bard. In the end in a “Salieri killed Mozart” scenario,
Shakespeare feels that he caused Marlowe’s death.
The egotistical actors Alleyn (Brad Hodder)
and Burbage (Steve Ross) are there as is the creepy and bloodthirsty John
Webster (Tal Shulman). There is an assortment of characters that are on stage
creating the excitement and energy we imagine happening backstage when
everything goes wrong with a performance. It is splendid ensemble acting.
Paddy Cunneen adds some lovely songs based on
verses from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets and Jane Gibson provides the
choreography.
Shakespeare in Love opened in London in
2014 directed by Declan Donnellan and that production has been imported for the
play’s North American premiere at Stratford. Designer Nick Ormerod provides a
wood-paneled backdrop with a balcony and moveable panels for the change of scenes
such as the introduction of the bed, the entry of the Queen and the indication
of action behind the curtain. It is excellent for quick scene changes in a play
that is fast paced.
What can one say about a play that covers Shakespeare,
love, laughter, theatre, and a “familiar” setting no matter how fictional?
How about: “Thanks for the break…the laughter…the
”visit”…the wonderful production.
______
Shakespeare in Love
based on the screenplay by
Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, adapted for the stage be Lee Hall continues in
repertory until October 26, 2016 at the Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario. www.stratfordfestival.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment