There is a grove in Toronto’s
High Park, surrounded by trees and bounded by greenery where you can find a
theatre. The semi-circles of concrete steps that you will sit on may remind you
of an ancient Greek or Roman theatre that has seen better days. It may not be Epidaurus
but it is Canadian and Canadian Stage has been producing Shakespeare there for
decades.
This summer’s offerings are Measure
for Measure and Much Ado About Nothing. Measure
has been redacted so that it can be performed in ninety minutes with no
intermission. You get the core of the play without many details that will require
twice as long to perform. Sitting on a thin cushion on a hard surface, it may
be as long as you can endure.
Can Konlekisz, Nora McLellan, Heath V. Salazar and Allan Louis. Photo: Dahlia Katz
Measure for Measure, directed
by Severn Thompson, is amazingly well done. It is a fast-paced and well-acted
production that makes for perfect theatre under the stars. Severn has little respect
for the gender of some characters and has cast women in men’s roles for no
apparent reason. It has become almost de rigueur to have transgender casting
and I hope the fashion will soon disappear. Doing the play with about a dozen
actors required some doubling up so the gender-blind casting may be simply for
economic reasons.
The production opens with the
cast coming down the aisle chanting a faltering “Kyrie eleison” and when they
reach the stage we hear Angelo (Christopher Morris) orating about morality in
words not written by Shakespeare. Why? Shakespeare’s play begins where the
moral but ineffective Duke (Allan Louis) delegates his powers to tough Angelo who
can be trusted to enforce the strict morality laws of Vienna.
The main serious plotline is the
attempt by Isabella (Natasha Mumba) to persuade Angelo not to execute her
brother Claudio (Richard Lam). He has been condemned to death for sleeping with
his fiancée Juliet (Emma Ferreira). The stern and moral Angelo is intent on
enforcing the law but he is sexually attracted to the novice nun Isabella and
wants to bed her. Thompson has Isabella place her hand over Angelo’s heart
during her pleas for clemency and one can see him getting aroused. A well done
scene.
Measure for Measure has a large cast of colourful and comic
characters from the debauched side of Vienna. They are pimps, prostitutes and
brothel keepers, delightful low-lives who are worried about their professional turf.
The brothel keeper Mistress Overdone (Nora McLellan), her pimp Pompey (Heath V.
Salazar) the extravagant Lucio (Emilio Vieira) who has contacted syphilitic
diseases galore, the convict Bernadine (McLellan) who is too drunk to be
executed, make up the collection. And there is constable Elbow (Jamie Robinson),
not too swift and able to butcher the English language uproariously.
Christopher Morris and Natasha Mumba. Photo: Dahlia Katz
The cast does superb work with
this motley collection of characters. We are no doubt concerned with Isabella’s
virtue, Claudio’s and Juliet’s fate and the course of justice in Vienna but the
world of pimps and prostitutes is a lot more fun.
The single two-story set by
Joanna Yu with an iron door and graffiti suggests the seedy side of Vienna and
is quite appropriate.
Measure for Measure has
been classified as a “problem comedy” and the final scene is a problem for me
to watch. The Duke comes in and out of his disguise; Angelo is ordered to marry
Mariana (his former fiancée who became the last minute switch for Isabella in his
bed: Lucio is ordered to marry a
prostitute and the Duke asks Isabella to marry him. Yikes.
You may not want to worry about
all those details and simply enjoy the production and the pizza or other food that
you brought to the theatre.
__________
Measure for Measure
by William Shakespeare, in a Canadian Stage production in collaboration
with the Department of Theatre, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
at York University, continues in repertory until September 1, 2019 in the High
Park Amphitheatre, High Park, 1873 Bloor St W. Toronto, Ont. www.canadianstage.com
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