Cymbeline
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by JD Cannady
Northcenter Town Square, 4100 N. Damen (map)
thru Sept 16 | tix: pay-what-you-can | more info
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Shakespeare’s greatest hits, outdoors at night
The RIFF Collective presents
Cymbeline
Review by Keith Glab
Shakespeare being performed outdoors has become rather commonplace. The RIFF Collective puts a new twist on the concept by performing Shakespeare outdoors at night.
In their production of Cymbeline, a few chairs are arranged in an informal thrust facing two actors with ukuleles who sit upon a large trunk. The action of the play does not take place exclusively in this area, however. The stage left-ish section provides the best view of the performance, whether you use the chairs provided, bring your own, or watch from the ground of Northcenter Town Square. The stage is surprisingly well-lit, using primarily the park’s natural lighting.
The creative use of space includes a pair of director’s chairs as a throne room and an SUV’s trunk as a cave. The Queen (Sheila Landahl)
There’s no doubt that some creativity is needed to make the text of Cymbeline work. The plot is convoluted even by Shakespeare’s standards. A little organ music would nudge it over the edge into the realm of cheesy soap operas. Director JD Cannady boldly uses the same actor to portray both of Imogen’s prospective husbands. This threatens to further confuse an audience that is already struggling to keep up with the twists and turns of the plot, but it is pulled off exceptionally well by Aaron Wertheim. He is able to make Posthumus and Cloten into distinctly different characters despite just a minimal costume change. This casting decision makes Cloten’s speech lamenting the fact that he is just as physically attractive as Posthumus yet not as desirable to Imogen (Anne Thompson) all the more poignant.
Sheila Landahl also gives an impressive dual performance as both the evil Queen and the noble, worldly Belarius. Joe Flynn is about 20 years too young for the titular role of Cymbeline, but this might be forgiven as he is perhaps the most comfortable of the ensemble with Shakespeare’s language. Ironically, Cymbeline is more of a supporting character in this odd play. More of the narrative surrounds his daughter Imogen, whom Anne Thompson regrettably portrays with more indicating than acting. She is strong vocally, however, when not all of the cast is up to the task of competing with street noise and filling this outdoor space with voice.
An adaptor’s note from Henry Woronicz, who first developed this version of the supposedly never-completed text at the Seattle Shakespeare Company, calls the play a collection of “Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits.” It certainly does have that feel, with the potion device and forbidden love harkening back to Romeo and Juliet, the relationship between Cymbeline and Imogen paralleling Lear and Cordelia, and Iachimo (Andrew Embry) serving as a sort of impotent Iago in his failed efforts to seduce Imogen but successful lies convincing Posthumus that he has done so.
Despite the lack of originality in the script, there are some interesting themes in play that come out well in this production. It’s a very bold attempt at resurrecting a rarely-seen Shakespeare script using imaginative staging. Some of it works and some of it doesn’t. If you’re willing to brave a run time of over two hours without an intermission outdoors, it’s worth a view.
Rating: ★★½
Cymbeline continues through September 16th at Northcenter Town Square, 4100 N. Damen (map), with performances Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30pm. Tickets are pay-what-you-can, and are available through BrownPaperTickets.com. More info at RIFFCollective.com. (Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes, no intermission)
Photos by Eliza Morris
artists
cast
Pamela Mae Davis (Pisanio); Andrew Embry (Iachimo); Joe Flynn (Cymbeline); Jeff Kurysz (Cornelius, Philario, others); Sheila Landahl (Queen, Belarius); Brody Murray (Guiderus, Frenchman, Lord); Aaron Wertheim (Posthumus, Cloten); Anne Thompson (Imogen)
behind the scenes
JD Cannady (director); Henry Woronicz (adaption); Daniel D. Drake (stage manager); Shanna Brown (fight choreographer); Erik Kearney (producer); Emily Nicholson (costumes); Casey Peek (production manager); Eliza Morris (photos)
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