Elizabeth Rex
Marking the second time Bard on the Beach has produced a play not written by Shakespeare himself, Elizabeth Rex tells the story of a queen torn between personal love and public duty. She has sentenced her lover, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, to be beheaded for his act of treason, remaining steadfast in this decision to prove that England is her priority.
Premiered at the Stratford Festival in 2000 and the winner of a Governor General Award, Timothy Findley’s play is a must see for Shakespeare fans as it sheds light on his life and cleverly references his work.
The action begins with Shakespeare (David Marr) writing a new play and soliloquising about what people will say about him after he’s gone. His company, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, have just performed Much Ado About Nothing for the queen and they are confined to the royal stables due to a curfew imposed by Queen Elizabeth.
As the players discuss their performance and engage in friendly banter, Queen Elizabeth, Lady Stanley (Sereana Malani), and Countess Henslowe (Susinn McFarlen) interrupt their private conversation as the queen declares that she “requires distraction” from what is about to happen to her lover. She enters into a battle of wits with Edward — aka Ned — Lowenscroft (Haig Sutherland) who, suffering from “the pox” (syphilis), is not afraid to say what he thinks.
Their verbal confrontation goes on all night as Elizabeth moves through many emotions and deals with the fact that she has sentenced the only man that has “brought out the woman in her” to death.
Other characters add to the drama, including Percy Gower (Bernard Cuffling) who enjoys reminiscing on his days of playing female roles when he would receive bundles of flowers from men. Kate “Tardy” Tardwell (Lois Anderson) is a short-sighted seamstress who comes into the barn without her glasses on and scolds the queen for wearing one of her best dresses, not realizing who she’s talking to.
Lowenscroft also has a pet bear (Benjamin Elliott), saved from a baiting pit. This costume was very well done, as were the bear-like mannerisms. The barn set and variety of props made for a realistic setting, and the highly dramatic premise paired with humorous moments make this a captivating tale. Colleen Wheeler as the determined monarch was stunning in her intensity and emotional integrity, and the fact that she shaved her beautiful red hair for this role demonstrates her dedication.
This cast did a spectacular job of creating the tension between Elizabeth and Lowenscroft as their conversations bring up themes of gender, love, regret, and remembrance.
Measure for Measure
Set in 1900s New Orleans, this production is a new take on Shakespeare’s dramatic comedy. With original songs, the adaptation emphasized themes of love, lust, justice, and mercy through the brothels of New Orleans’ red light district, Storeyville.
Mistress Overdone (Lois Anderson) works in one of the brothels and leads many of the lively jazz songs that pop up throughout the play. Duke Vincentio (Andrew Wheeler) appoints the strict Angelo (David Mackay) to enforce justice and clean up the town while he is away. The Duke, however, remains in town and, disguised as a friar, he watches Angelo’s descent as he becomes corrupted by his absolute power.
Claudio (Luc Roderique) is arrested for getting his fiancé pregnant, and Angelo intends to enforce the long ignored sex laws by sentencing Claudio to death. Things become complicated when Claudio’s sister Isabella (Sereana Malani) entreats Angelo to spare her brother’s life, and Angelo is overcome by his lust for her.
Angelo tells Isabella that the only thing that can save her brother is if she will have sex with him. Isabella decides that her chastity is more important, but when she tells Claudio this he has a different opinion.
The Duke, still disguised as a friar, overhears this conversation and tells Isabella that he has a plan to save Claudio. They plan to send another woman in her place to satisfy Angelo and solve Isabella’s dilemma. Although this plan is a success and Angelo gets what he wanted, he orders Claudio’s immediate death.
This is not a typical Shakespearean comedy in that it deals with some difficult social issues and tragic themes. The story is kept light by the inclusion of Mistress Overdone’s servant Pompey (David Marr) and Claudio’s friend Lucio (Anton Lipovetsky) who both gave exceptional performances. Isabella’s emotional sincerity was also impressive, as was her beautiful singing voice in the final scene.
There were so many innovative things in this production, including the lighting placed within the stage’s trapdoors that lit up the roof of the tent, sometimes with images of trees. The live jazz music, including the piano, trumpet, tuba, and banjo, really brought it to life, and the well written original songs added humour to this sometimes dark story.
