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Whole lotta Shakespeare goin' on >> The bard hooks up with a big band and plays some greatest hits
by AMY BARRATT Photo by Chris Kralik
Making good Errors This is the third summer in a row that Repercussion has presented Dream and frankly, I wouldn't recommend it. Even though I'm quite familiar with the play, when I saw it last summer I found that Jack Langedijk's direction made it chaotic and confusing. On the other hand, Repercussion's A Comedy of Errors, new this season, is a delight. Believed to be Shakespeare's earliest comedy, it also happens to be one of the shortest. And though it doesn't contain his most brilliant writing or most intricate plot, the latter is actually a blessing in an outdoor production. There is one simple storyline involving two sets of twins, separated shortly after birth. Can you say mistaken identity? Director Kevin Orr has set the play in a Dick Tracy world of gangsters and molls, flappers and prize-fighters, and seasoned it liberally with big band tunes and swing dancing. Music and sound are used to great effect throughout the production, and the cast once again features some of Montreal's brightest young talents. Jesse Todd is a real crowd-pleaser as Dromio of Syracuse, as is Fanny Lacroix as Lucianna. And what Ryan Hollyman has done with two character parts really has to be seen to be believed. I wouldn't change a thing about this show.
Love's labour found Not to be outdone in the young talent department, Elysian River features David Khalifa, who recently starred in Concordia's Romeo and Juliet, along with Zoe Mugford, also from the Concordia Theatre department. Also worth mentioning is Patrick Sabongui, whose notable presence was felt in last summer's The Tempest and more recently in Surviving Wor(l)ds, also an Elysian River production. Shakespeare on Love will find pairs of lovers from comedy, tragedy and even history plays mingling in the woods and suffering manipulation at the hands of those pesky fairies, Titania and Oberon. Rosalind and Orlando, Hermia and Lysander, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V and his Queen Katherine will all be heard from before the--I think it's safe to assume--happy ending unfolds.
Shakespeare on Love plays nightly through July 17, 7:30pm, beginning at the Cartier monument near Parc and Rachel (except Sunday, July 11). By donation. 845-9607 for info. A Midsummer Night's Dream plays Westmount Park, July 11, Parc LaFontaine's Théâtre de Verdure, July 13, and Beaver Lake, July 17. A Comedy of Errors plays Théâtre de Verdure, July 14 and Beaver Lake July 18. All shows 8:30pm. Both will appear in parks around the island right through Labour Day. Suggested donation $5. Call 485-6000 to confirm dates |
Shakespeare is alive and well in Montreal this summer. So much so that, one night this month--Saturday, July 17--there will be not one but two Oberons and two Titanias frolicking on the mountain. That's because by some weird celestial alignment (or unfortunate scheduling, depending on how you look at it) both Shakespeare in the Park companies, Elysian River and Repercussion, will be performing on Mount Royal that night. Repercussion presents A Midsummer Night's Dream at Beaver Lake, while Elysian River's Shakespeare on Love, a pastiche of scenes overseen by the King and Queen of the Fairies from Dream, wends its way up the mountainside from the Cartier monument.