We just got back from a few days in Ashland, where we got us some culture and sunshine. We saw four plays: "Macbeth", "Equivocation", "Dead Man's Cell Phone" and "Death and the King's Horseman".
Equivocation, by Bill Cain was our hands-down favorite. I want to see it again; perhaps I can persuade a friend to go. This play tells about William Shagspeare (one of the Bard's many spellings of his name) and his troupe. They receive a commission from King James I to write a play telling the "true history" of the Gunpowder Plot. It is not a job they want, but can hardly refuse and keep their heads.
The play ties in with Macbeth and Henry VIII, which are included in this season's offerings. I am glad that we saw Macbeth first, especially since I've only known the story in snippets and via Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" and Rick Miller's comic "MacHomer". I've never seen Henry VIII (it opens in June), but I can imagine how Shakepeare had to make that story palatable for Henry's daughter Queen Elizabeth.
The play is witty, complex and well-done. "Shag" gets in over his head as he researches the Plot and discovers inconsistencies with the official version. His talent of making everyone happy with a play is put to the test. - Consider "The Merchant of Venice", where the Jews can be satisfied that Shylock and they themselves are wronged, then the Christians can be satisfied that the Jews are put back in their place. Trust is questioned and relationships are strained. Shag learns the fine art of equivocation, and creates a classic.
Although set in 1605, this play also touches on modern themes, such as the efficacy of torture: Why bother if the prisoner will tell you anything you want to hear? Exactly!
The small cast play a variety of parts, ofttimes morphing from one to another onstage: An interview with a prisoner in the dungeon becomes a scene in rehersal.
Shag's daughter Judith sililoquizes about her distaste for sililoquies.
This is Equivocation's world premier. I hope it spreads far and wide after this. Go see it if it comes to a theater near you.
Of the other plays we saw, Macbeth was good but not great. In particular, Macbeth's sililoquy about killing King Duncan and the Witches' famous "Boil, boil, toil and trouble" scene seemed canned. What comes out of the cauldron got lots of creeped-out gasps, though. I don't know why the "Noblewoman" was dressed more like a housemaid or nanny. OSF is overly fond of modern military uniforms in their plays; it gets boring. However, the set and lighting were great, and Lady Macbeth's blood red costumes were gorgeous.
Dead Man's Cell Phone was a good little play that disappointed in the last few minutes.
Death and the King's Horseman is a play based on an incident in 1946, when Nigerian custom clashes with British colonial arrogance. Although a couple of lengthy monologues caused us to lose the point, this play is well worth seeing. This is the first time I've seen an OSF play where the cast is racially typed, except for one Euro-American playing a Nigerian drummer. Usually, they just pick good actors, no matter what their race. I may have seen more racial typing if we'd ever gotten to see any of August Wilson's plays here, but this was different for me.
Sounds like a good time. I should really get up there sometime.
ReplyDeleteIf you like good theater, yes you should.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention that Lithia Park was gorgeous: lots of rhodies, azaleas, dogwoods & roses in bloom. Lithia Creek was flowing strongly. Not many birds, though, which seemed odd.