Courtesy of Depict.ca
The Shakespeare Company’s production of Equivocation which runs until March 7 is a dizzyingly intellectual outing. The story’s many twists and turns are captivating although somewhat mentally exhausting. This is definitely not a show to experience in a sleep-deprived state.
Audiences meet William Shagspeare (Christian Goutsis) and his company of actors just as Sir Robert Cecil (Joel Cochrane) commands Shagspeare to write a “true history” of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The Gunpowder Plot was a planned assassination attempt against King James I of England by a group of Catholic rebels.
Shagspeare wants to reject the commission as he realizes writing about current events is – pardon the pun – political gunpowder; Sir Robert Cecil however doesn’t allow him to do so for political reasons of his own.
What follows is an exploration of the “truth” behind the Plot and the possible cover-ups associated with it as well as how to “equivocate” or “tell the truth under difficult circumstances.”
Along the way audiences are introduced to the various members of Shagspeare’s acting company his daughter Judith (Geneviève Paré) with whom Shagspeare has a strained relationship James I (Geoffrey Simon Brown) and some of the alleged conspirators including the master of equivocation Jesuit priest Father Henry Garnet (Brian Jensen).
Surprisingly Guy Fawkes – the name most famously associated with the Gunpowder Plot – is hardly mentioned.
Interwoven with the play’s main narrative are scenes from the Bard’s works including King Lear and Macbeth.
Under Kevin McKendrick’s direction Equivocation moves at a breakneck speed. The cast which also includes Karl Sine is fabulous with each actor adopting several roles throughout the production. Cochrane is particularly delightful as the deliciously sinister Sir Robert Cecil or “Beagle” as the King calls him.
Did I leave the theatre with a solid understanding of the Gunpowder Plot’s historical timeline? Not really. I actually left with more questions than answers and a desire to watch the play again in order to catch the nuances I missed the first time — such is the density of the story. In my opinion however these lingering questions are the hallmark of an excellent thought-provoking piece of theatre.
Despite its historical nature Equivocation also raises issues relevant in any era including the costs associated with maintaining personal and artistic integrity the role governments play in covering up the truth and a discussion of the nature of truth itself.
EQUIVOCATION runs until March 7 at Lunchbox Theatre.
