Love at first sight?? Not always.. sometimes it sneaks up on us, like a surprise happy-ending––as in Shakespeare’s rock ’n’ frollicking romance, The Taming of the Shrew. Yes, we said romance. For a story of love it is, despite the shrewiest of the critics. And, we may ask, who is said Shrew, really? The answer may surprise us, as directed by our beloved Alex Gallacher, who has famously noted that indeed, when it comes to Shakespeare, it's always a love story. This year’s production features an abundance of the typical Shakespearean gender-bending, disguises and antics, and the hilarity that ensues.
This year’s Shakespeare festival also takes a tragic and serious turn, with our production of Richard III, directed by an amazing Father & Son team, Rob and Nima Foell, who together have been puzzling through the corruption and lust for power so evident on the surface of Richard III. Delving deeper, they find profound and subtle reflections of power's enduring sway in a story that examines not only a fractured empery, but the breaking of love, hope, and personhood itself. Although set in pre-Tudor England, and signifying the historical end to England’s 14th century War of the Roses, Richard’s story is just as relevant today as it has ever been, and also, somehow, a story of love, albeit a very sad one.
So how’s that for opposites? Do they attract?? Come and see both these gems, and then you can decide for yourself!
