Saturday night. A production of “Pericles” by William Shakespeare (or partially by him; it seems to be controversial), an unfamiliar play that required some pre-performance research on my part. Everything but the kitchen sink was in this one, but it was rousing and touching and highly entertaining. Low budgets seem to call for great creativity, and this one delivered. I especially liked the shipboard scenes. Some lines were sung, in a nice touch. The venue was the old historic Liberty Theatre, where a back room with a two- or three-story-high ceiling looks over a small floor-level stage surrounded by a row of seats on each of the four brickwall sides to accommodate an audience of about 24, max. Entry is through a nondescript back door on the alley, while the front of the theater is still undergoing restoration and renovation. Simple, static lighting.
The La Grande Shakespeare Company performed, delighting and frankly surprising us. Especially notable performances were put forth by its artistic Director, Grant Turner, playing several roles, including Pericles as the King in later years, and by Kevin Cahill (who brought the controversial Steve Martin — yes, that Steve Martin — play to town a few years ago, in a dominant role as the narrator and, like most of the rest of the cast, playing multiple roles.
See the Company’s Facebook page here, and get to know some of the actors on their YouTube channel, here, here and here.
Live Shakespeare-era music backed it all up (and Denise, whom we saw earlier in the day, was one of the musicians). We will be watching for future Shakespeare productions from this company, and are reminded why our local EOU has such a reputation for its theatre program. Some pre-performance pix; no cameras permitted during the event itself:
