A Shrewish Night of Laughs

Let me just say a little something about London theatre… very accessible and very entertaining. That’s right, I said it! I recently went to go see two productions of some classic Shakespeare at the Old Vic Theatre (pop quiz: who is the artistic director there? All those who answered Kevin Spacey are correct; all those who just read on and thought that was their answer shame on you). I saw an all male version of Taming of the Shrew and 12th Night both of which were in rep with one another for a month at the Old Vic.

I thoroughly enjoyed both productions. When I first say the ads and heard some of my classmates discussing the production of 12th Night I decided I needed to go and see for myself. There wasn’t a huge focus on the feminism (men dressing up as women) that I thought might be the case. In fact it was quite clear when the actor playing Kate wore a dress that bared a hairy chest that there wasn’t any special consideration to the female roles. The company that did both pieces was extremely talented and well diverse. There were Irish actors, Scottish actors and British actors all in the same company. And I must say that hearing Shakespeare done with those accents makes it sound very authentic. What I really liked about the productions (and what seems to be the case now on Broadway more and more) is the addition of talented actors who can play instruments. EVERY SINGLE ACTOR played the piano at some point, or the guitar or something that added the extra element of music to these productions. In fact it truly enhanced the experience for me as an audience member and really helped further the story along more smoothly. On the plus side the added interludes (especially in 12th Night) of A Capella, really solidified my amazement that not only are these all guys, but guys who can sing, play instruments, and who are very good actors. I only wonder what the audition process was like.

I was lucky enough to see the productions before they closed, but if anyone ever gets a chance to see “true” Shakespeare (all-male companies), I suggest take a gamble and try it out… you may enjoy it.

Next stop March 1st tickets to go see Equus (with Daniel Radcliffe)… This should be interesting