Anyone for time travel?

Mind-blowing Pericles at Bard

by Christopher Key

OK, so there are two must-see productions at Bard on the Beach this year and the second one is also on the Howard Family Stage.  If the name of Pericles director Lois Anderson seems familiar, it’s because she’s been an onstage favorite for years.  Anderson also knows how to make an entrance as a director and her first effort is going to be tough to top.

The sheer amount of work Anderson put in on this adaptation is evident in her Director’s Notes wherein she cites everyone from Joseph Campbell to Euripedes to George Lucas.  Another indication of hard work and attention to detail is how much time she and the techies must have spent together.

How often have you heard an audience at a Shakespeare festival spontaneously break into applause at some wizardly feat of stage magic?  It happened several times on opening night and that means the backstage geniuses get first billing.

Photo credit - David Blue

Anderson not only borrows a speech from Euripedes, but much of the classical Greek dramatic form.  That demands some vocal acrobatics from the actors and Alison Matthews coaches them very well.  There are ghostly presences whose statuesque appearance is thanks to an unnamed makeup artist and Marie Le Bihan, in charge of wig construction.

This production is marvelously mystical, somewhat reminiscent of The Tempest and time is somewhat fluid as we travel forward and back.  That required a lot of creativity from Costume Designer Carmen Alatorre and it shows in every stitch.

I’ve never been able to discern very clearly the fine line between choreography and movement.  But I know it when I see it and the atmospheric movement in this play springs from the fertile imagination of Wendy Gorling.

None of this would work without close attention to scenic design.  Amir Ofek delivers a set that you’ll want to explore carefully before the show begins in order to appreciate the attention to detail.  Tip of the fedora to Indiana Jones.

Photo credit - David Blue

Even though the oft-underappreciated backstage barbarians steal this one, there are also some actors who contribute mightily and endure some serious staging challenges.  The title role is played Kaymar Pazandeh who runs away with Rookie of the Year honors.  

Photo credit - David Blue

David Warburton is appropriately Obi-wan Kenobish as Cerimon, a healer and tour guide on the side. 

Photo credit - David Blue

Pericles' long-lost daughter Marina is portrayed by Luisa Jojic, who spreads purity and innocence like an STD.  She even has weird hair like Princess Leia.

One of the reasons the Douglas Campbell Theatre occupies a special place in my heart is because that’s where I get to see those rarely-produced, non-canonical works.  Thanks to an informative Bard program, I now know that scholars consider the first nine scenes of Pericles to have been written by George Wilkins while ‘ol Bill is responsible for the rest.  Lay that one on ‘em at Trivia Tuesday!  All of the Bard shows live up to their rep, but Pericles is the cherry on top of this sundae of a season.

Pericles plays in repertory with Othello under the Bard on the Beach tents at Vancouver, BC’s, lovely Vanier Park.  The drive and the border hassles are all worth it and you can see the schedule and score tickets at the Bard website.

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An uncivil war

Othello soars at Bard

by Christopher Key

Director Bob Frazer credits actors Luc Roderique and Kayvon Kelly for the idea of setting Shakespeare’s tragic Othello in 1864 during the American Civil War.  Their motives may not have been entirely pure since they ended up with the two biggest roles, but the concept is brilliant.

Othello has always struck me as the most accessible of the Bard’s tragedies because who hasn’t felt twinges of jealousy at some point?  Never mind that the characters are in positions of power; it’s the human emotions that grab us and won’t let go.  If you’re not physically and emotionally limp by the time Othello ends, you need to check your vitals.

I’ve always found that the shows on the Howard Family Stage in the Douglas Campbell Theatre represent the very best of Bard on the Beach.  The theatre is smaller and the thrust stage sweeps the audience into the action.  But it’s also where Bard goes out on the edge and takes risks that are not always evident in the mainstage productions.

While Shakespeare’s script focuses on “the green-eyed monster,” which is as old as Cain and Abel, Frazer’s adaptation highlights racism and bigotry, which is as contemporary as this morning’s 

headlines.

Photo credit - David Blue

Roderique plays the title role with enormous sensitivity, making the audience squirm while watching an essentially good man be utterly destroyed by his emotions.  Yes, I know that not everyone likes to squirm, but it’s one of the hallmarks of great theatre.  Like good priests, good playwrights comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

Photo credit - David Blue

The scheming Iago is the most interesting character in the show as he manipulates his superior officer like an Elizabethan Dick Cheney.  Kelly’s interpretation pulls no punches, but he manages to score his points about racism without inflicting blunt trauma injuries on the audience.

Kayla Deorksen sparkles as she delivers a spirited and sensual Desdemona.  This character must be played just right or the audience won’t identify with the insane jealousy her husband feels over her fictional betrayals.  Deorksen is firmly in Goldilocks territory.

As expected at Bard on the Beach, the supporting cast is as solid as Donald Trump’s head.  Watch for outstanding performances by Andrew Cownden, Luisa Jojic, David Warburton and Sereana Malani.

Costume Designer Mara Gottler handles military uniforms and hoop skirts with equal ease and Sound Designer Steve Charles brilliantly captures the music of that turbulent American era.  Fight director Nicholas Harrison makes all the mayhem frighteningly real and Lighting Designer John Webber has obviously seen what light looks like in Charleston.

I’ve got one more show to review, but at this point, Othello is this year’s must-see production.  It plays in repertory with Pericles on the second stage through September 17^th.  See the Bard on the Beach website for a complete schedule and to purchase tickets.

Remember what I said about dressing for Junuary?  This year, it also holds for Julember.

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Why must I be a teenager in love?

Smokin’ hot R&J at Bard

by Christopher Key

“Hormonal” was the word that kept popping up on my inner screen as I watched opening night of Romeo and Juliet at Vancouver, BC’s, Bard on the Beach.  This is a very good thing.  Too many directors forget that the star-crossed lovers are teenagers and full of what people used to refer to as “juices.”  Those metabolic demons are what powers puberty and lead young people into making oft-disastrous decisions.

Kim Collier is not afraid to unleash those demons onstage and the result will make your hair, among other things, stand on end.  Quite frankly, R & J has never been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays.  This production raised it several notches in my estimation because all of the elements come together in a way that is truly synergistic.  That’s why the techies get first billing.

I’m not sure why Pam Johnson’s set, reminiscent of Soviet brutalist architecture, works so well in the context of romantic Verona, but it does.  Nancy Bryant’s sensuous costumes are a complete contrast and maybe that’s what modifies the harshness of the set.  Certainly Brian Linds’ sound design is essential to the mood.  Ranging from raw percussion to electronica to industrial rock, the soundtrack grabs you by the short ‘n curlies and never lets go.

Photo credit - David Blue

Vancouver native Andrew Chown delivers a Romeo that gives new meaning to the phrase “testosterone poisoning.”  His acting chops are solid, but it’s his athleticism that will astound you.  Whether it’s a prodigious leap toward Juliet’s balcony or a running handstand against a wall, Chown forcibly reminds us of the male persuasion how much fun it is (was?) to show off for a girl.  Not to mention the accompanying adrenaline rush from doing something really stupid.

Photo credit - David Blue

Hailey Gillis’ Juliet is eminently worth showing off for.  There’s a theatrical axiom claiming that by the time an actor is capable of portraying Juliet, she’s too old to look the part.  Gillis puts the lie to it by thoroughly capturing the giddiness of estrogen poisoning while giving a mature performance.  R & J is all about such contradictions.

Romeo’s homies, Mercutio and Benvolio, are played by Bard vets Andrew McNee and Ben Elliott with the adolescent edginess that defines this production.  Their fight scenes with Tybalt and his Capulet cronies are frighteningly authentic, for which we can thank Fight Director David McCormick.  Anton Lipovetsky portrays Tybalt with a sneering sense of entitlement reminiscent of certain political figures.  You’ll want to run him through as much as Romeo does.

The Nurse is one of those Bardish characters that can run away with the show if played well.  Bard fave Jennifer Lines plays the role in this version and I really don’t need to say much more than that, do I?  How about bawdy, bumptious and brilliant?

Another Bard fixture, Scott Bellis, plays Friar Laurence with a hip sensibility reminiscent of a Doonesbury character.  The massive headphones are a delightful touch. 

As always at Bard, the supporting cast is bulletproof (if not swordproof) and that’s all of a piece when the whole becomes greater than its parts.

It really doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen Romeo and Juliet and all its spinoffs.  This production will give you a fresh perspective on the old story and that’s what Bard on the Beach does best.

R & J performs in repertory with The Merry Wives of Windsor on the BMO Mainstage through September 23.  For showtimes, see the Bard on the Beach website.  You can purchase tickets there, as well.

Do keep in mind that it is Junuary and dress accordingly.

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