Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
William Shakespeare’s work is to be brought to life at the Macpherson House Aug. 8, performed by the cast of the Driftwood Theatre Group — with a mix of colourful puppets.
Together they’ll be tackling Shakespeare’s romantic comedy classic As You Like It, which they’ve renamed Rosalynde, both as a nod to the main character and the original piece on which Shakespeare based his story.
Director Jeremy Smith has added his own twist on the story however, setting it in Canada in 1918, during a time when women were finally granted the right to vote in federal elections.
“We make it very clear that what we’re using is Shakespeare’s text. It’s not like we’re turning it into something it’s not,” explains Smith. “Because this play is such a celebration of women’s empowerment and journey and self identity and self actualization, it just became really important to us and really clear to us that we had to frame it in a way that would reinforce that.”
The cast will be an even split of humans and puppets which serves the dual purpose of making it more fun for kids while helping to fill the large casting call.
“We typically tour with smaller companies,” said Smith. “Eight actors nowadays is quite large in contemporary theatre. There’s not many companies that can afford big casts. This play requires about 16 characters to be on stage at one point. We wanted to be able to honour that and the solution this time was puppets.”
There will also be plenty of live music incorporated into the show to make for a lively performance.
“In all cases we’re either taking lyrics that Shakespeare had written or we’ve dropped in songs from that (1918) period,” said Smith. “It’s also a nice little history lesson in terms of music and what was happening at that time. It’s lively and fun and it’s all live.”
With a mix of comedy and romance, Smith says the play will appeal to all ages, even parents.
“You hear people say quite often ‘I hate Shakespeare, I couldn’t stand it in high school’ and yet Shakespeare has quite an appeal,” said Smith.
“Our audiences typically get upset if we’re not producing Shakespeare. There’s a draw to it. We encourage people, even if you’re slightly weary of Shakespeare or weary of the language, to really give it a chance because the stories are quite beautiful.”
Driftwood Theatre’s stop in Napanee will be part of their summer long Bard’s Bus Tour, which will see them travel across Ontario for one day performances. Smith says each production will be just a little unique in that they try to incorporate a bit of their surroundings into the show.
The all-ages event, which will be held outside in the historic home’s gardens, is free admission, starting at 7:30 p.m.