Theatre Calgary flirting with Shakespeare
If this is your first Shakespeare play ever have no fear —the same goes for Theatre Calgary’s artistic director Dennis Garnhum at least as far as directing goes.
Garnhum who has masterminded an all-stops-out version of Much Ado About Nothing freely admits that this is a test case to see whether Calgarians react well to Shakespeare à la Theatre Calgary.
“My hope is if we get a strong response from this production then there will absolutely be more Shakespeare at Theatre Calgary” he says.
The play itself is key to the endeavour and Garnhum chose Much Ado with care.
“It’s such a romantic accessible treatise on what I’m calling the complexity of love and who doesn’t want to talk about love?”
The plot centres on two couples Claudio and Hero young and smitten in true Shakespearean style and Beatrice and Benedick older inveterate bickerers who believe themselves to be above the whole love thing. At least until their friends connive to bring them together by convincing them that the two are madly in love with one another.
Along with the heartfelt romance Much Ado is replete with skirmishes of wit and undiluted comedy courtesy of the inept-cop-and-pals characters of Dogberry and his Watchmen.
But while the play is funny and one of Shakespeare’s most accessible Garnhum believes clarity is the biggest challenge with presenting Shakespeare.
“If you go to a bad Shakespeare and can’t figure out what’s going on you feel left out and that’s the worst feeling in the theatre” he says. “I believe the No. 1 impediment to enjoyment of Shakespeare is simply following it. Anyone who can follow it loves it.”
Garnhum has tried his best to smooth the path for any Bardophobes out there. Behind the scenes are a full-time voice coach Jane MacFarlane and text coach Ian Watson of Stratford to make Shakespeare’s words as clear and expressive as possible.
“There’s acting and then there’s acting Shakespeare. They’re two different things” says Garnhum. “You’re speaking poetry and you want to speak it in a way that the audience perceives it as clear thoughts.”
Garnhum has also judiciously edited the text to remove particularly vague or confusing Renaissance references while keeping the basic poetry intact. Newbies and veterans alike will find the Audience Enrichment Guide posted on Theatre Calgary’s website full of interesting Bard-related tidbits.
But the actual experience is what counts and technique aside this play is dressed up to the nines. The lush set is a Sicilian vineyard evoking Italy’s eternal sunshine and the heady aroma of wine — a warm escape from still chilly Calgary.
Laughing raging and falling in love actors will be decked out in brand new costumes to match the richness of the set.
With 24 actors — including seven new graduates along for the ride as part of the FUEL Artist Development program — the cast is enormous more or less at critical mass for this sort of production.
Grapes will be stomped. Hearts will be broken — and mended. Jokes will be cracked insults flung mistakes made.
“What’s not to love?” asks Garnhum.
