On the evening of Friday September 30th, I had the pleasure of being immersed in the Shakespearean world of Much Ado About Nothing.
What stands out about this production, and I am tempted to say adaptation, is the tremendously site-specific staging and presentation of the piece. Most site specific staging takes existing locations and uses or transforms them into a local within the play. In this production, director Jonathan Langley takes full advantage of the location: the historic Spadina Museum Historic House and Garden.
Audience members, under the pretense of being "downstairs" staff in training are split at the beginning of the evening into two groups: one who will witness the scenes of Hero and Beatrice, and one who will primarily follow Benedick and Claudio. Scenes with Dogberry and Don Jon are split more or less evenly between the two groups.
The time period of the production has been set as 1918, making it almost contemporaneous with the 20's and 30's decor of the historic space. The close matching, actual historic local, and intimacy of the small audience, who watches discretely the happenings of the "upstairs" inhabitants all lends an immersive feeling. One gets a sense of historic reenactment more than traditional performance.
I will say now that I wound up following the male storyline, and so missed some of the more key female scenes. However, I did see enough to say that Helen Juvonen provides an excellent performance as Beatrice as does Thomas Gough as Leonato, both of whom give a realistic performance with a depth and size befitting the space. Brandon Crone also gives a good turn as Claudio. Unfortunately, at the opening night performance Adam Wray as Benedick felt as if he was out of his part. The lines and actions were there, but I felt as if I was watching Adam reciting, not Benedick living.
Vikto Lukawski as Dogberry gave a fantastic performance. He has command of his comedy and physicality, and, when playing Friar Francis, shows that he has more serious acting chops as well. However, I took issue with the directorial choices of the Dogberry. While the rest of the production immersed us in a highly realistic world, the Dogberry scenes were peppered with antics, anachronisms, and improvisations that took us away from the text, setting period, and feel of the rest of the production. The text of the Dogberry scenes is funny in and of itself, and does not require references to Alien, or Back to the Future to make them funny. The whole effect unfortunately pulled me out of the evening, rather than keeping me immersed in it.
One other change to the script also jarred, and that was the substitution for "Pardon Goddess of the Night" with a sung rendition of "In Flanders Fields." The departure from the script made no sense to me, and the use of that poem in particular seemed inappropriate since Hero is reported dead due to a broken heart, and not as a result of fighting in WWI. The elegy written by Shakespeare ain't broke, and I didn't understand the need to fix it. It is too bad, too, because the outdoor setting, a field lit by candles, was perfectly suited to the poem originally in the text.
Overall, however, this evening was an experience that I strongly recommend. The cast is generally strong, the pacing is tight, and the delivery is clear. Other than the specific departures from the text that I mention, the direction is creative, makes excellent use of the venue, and serves the production well.
Those unfamiliar with the play may be a bit lost by what is happening. The text has been significantly reduced, and you will miss about a third of the play. However, the sense of immersion is the world is remarkably rewarding for those who are even passingly familiar with the play. You really do get the feeling of being a fly on the wall, and a feeling almost that you are watching historic events that may one day turn into a play. And to have that sense of newness and freshness brought to words that are over 400 years old is a treat. It is a rare opportunity to see a performance like this in a venue like this. Don't miss it.
The Single Theatre Theatre Company production of Much Ado About Nothing runs until October 16th at the Spadina Museum: Historic House and Gardens. Tickets ($20 each) are available at http://www.totix.ca
More information at http://www.singlethread.ca/
What stands out about this production, and I am tempted to say adaptation, is the tremendously site-specific staging and presentation of the piece. Most site specific staging takes existing locations and uses or transforms them into a local within the play. In this production, director Jonathan Langley takes full advantage of the location: the historic Spadina Museum Historic House and Garden.
Audience members, under the pretense of being "downstairs" staff in training are split at the beginning of the evening into two groups: one who will witness the scenes of Hero and Beatrice, and one who will primarily follow Benedick and Claudio. Scenes with Dogberry and Don Jon are split more or less evenly between the two groups.
The time period of the production has been set as 1918, making it almost contemporaneous with the 20's and 30's decor of the historic space. The close matching, actual historic local, and intimacy of the small audience, who watches discretely the happenings of the "upstairs" inhabitants all lends an immersive feeling. One gets a sense of historic reenactment more than traditional performance.
I will say now that I wound up following the male storyline, and so missed some of the more key female scenes. However, I did see enough to say that Helen Juvonen provides an excellent performance as Beatrice as does Thomas Gough as Leonato, both of whom give a realistic performance with a depth and size befitting the space. Brandon Crone also gives a good turn as Claudio. Unfortunately, at the opening night performance Adam Wray as Benedick felt as if he was out of his part. The lines and actions were there, but I felt as if I was watching Adam reciting, not Benedick living.
Vikto Lukawski as Dogberry gave a fantastic performance. He has command of his comedy and physicality, and, when playing Friar Francis, shows that he has more serious acting chops as well. However, I took issue with the directorial choices of the Dogberry. While the rest of the production immersed us in a highly realistic world, the Dogberry scenes were peppered with antics, anachronisms, and improvisations that took us away from the text, setting period, and feel of the rest of the production. The text of the Dogberry scenes is funny in and of itself, and does not require references to Alien, or Back to the Future to make them funny. The whole effect unfortunately pulled me out of the evening, rather than keeping me immersed in it.
One other change to the script also jarred, and that was the substitution for "Pardon Goddess of the Night" with a sung rendition of "In Flanders Fields." The departure from the script made no sense to me, and the use of that poem in particular seemed inappropriate since Hero is reported dead due to a broken heart, and not as a result of fighting in WWI. The elegy written by Shakespeare ain't broke, and I didn't understand the need to fix it. It is too bad, too, because the outdoor setting, a field lit by candles, was perfectly suited to the poem originally in the text.
Overall, however, this evening was an experience that I strongly recommend. The cast is generally strong, the pacing is tight, and the delivery is clear. Other than the specific departures from the text that I mention, the direction is creative, makes excellent use of the venue, and serves the production well.
Those unfamiliar with the play may be a bit lost by what is happening. The text has been significantly reduced, and you will miss about a third of the play. However, the sense of immersion is the world is remarkably rewarding for those who are even passingly familiar with the play. You really do get the feeling of being a fly on the wall, and a feeling almost that you are watching historic events that may one day turn into a play. And to have that sense of newness and freshness brought to words that are over 400 years old is a treat. It is a rare opportunity to see a performance like this in a venue like this. Don't miss it.
The Single Theatre Theatre Company production of Much Ado About Nothing runs until October 16th at the Spadina Museum: Historic House and Gardens. Tickets ($20 each) are available at http://www.totix.ca
More information at http://www.singlethread.ca/