Shakespeare's Will @ Stratford
A deeper look at the Bard's life and marriage
There are few actresses in this country who could pull off a one-woman show - and two of them are performing as part of this year's Stratford Festival.
Lucy Peacock is reviving her hit show, The Blonde, The Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead (review to come in July) and the incomparable Seana McKenna recently opened Vern Theissen’s Shakespeare’s Will at the Studio Theatre.
Theissen has created a piece of theatre based on real characters, but has taken creative liberties with actual events. The main focus of the work is Anne Hathaway, also known as Mrs. William Shakespeare. The story begins the evening of Shakespeare’s funeral, as Anne awaits the arrival of Jane, Shakespeare’s sister, to read his last will and testament. Over the next eighty minutes, we are taken on a journey through the relationship between Hathaway and Shakespeare – their first meeting right through Shakespeare’s departure from Stratford-Upon-Avon to become an actor and playwright with the Queen’s Players in London, and ultimately, his death.
Theissen has painted Shakespeare as a man with vision, drive and aspirations who ultimately chooses to live his life in London away from his wife and children. Hathaway is portrayed as a woman who longs for her husband, and while they both agreed to let each other live out each other’s own lives and dreams, she is left to raise the children on her own. While neglectful, Shakespeare supports his family by sending some of his earnings home, and the occasional letter or visit. Throughout the play you are left wondering why exactly Hathaway stayed with him so long (upwards of 34 years) and what exactly their relationship entails. You get sucked in with the will sitting on a stool on the stage, as Hathaway references it numerous times, swearing that she would not read it. Finally, when she does, you see and hear her world crumble around her. Not wanting to play spoiler, the plot synopsis will end here.
Seana McKenna is always strong (her performance as Amanda Wingfield last season at the Stratford Festival was very touching) and so you would expect that her work her in this piece would be just as powerful – and it is. She is a captivating storyteller, and has a grace that allows her to command the stage like few actors can. She knows exactly when to go for the laugh, and when to play the emotions to grab onto the audience, and when she has you, she doesn’t let you go.
Miles Potter does a superb job handling this simplistic piece, moving McKenna around the stage aptly and gracefully. Potter is notorious for very clear storytelling in his direction, and Shakespeare’s Will is no exception. He has shaped the piece in a way to clarify the story and each individual character stands out as a necessary cog in that storytelling.
The only minor fault in this production is the script, and the faults are small, and could be construed as being nitpicky. Most of the dialogue is done in a very straightforward and concise way, and there are only a few moments that this critic has issue with. The frustrating part of the dialogue is when two characters are interacting with one another. Theissen has decided to end lines of dialogue between two characters with “I said” and “he said”, rather than allowing the actor, in this case McKenna, to use a different tone or voice to portray the two characters. While you don’t want to portray the likes of Shakespeare in a cartoony type voice, the repetitive nature of these “I said/he said” leaves the audience rather disinterested and it all becomes rather tedious.
Again, the fault with the script is minor, and it could be that I’m being difficult. Shakespeare’s Will is a truly remarkable piece of theatre, and whether or not it has any base in reality or actual events shouldn’t sway you to see it or not. You should see this work for Ms. McKenna’s dazzling performance, the slick direction of Mr. Potter, and to hear a side of Shakespeare that you might not have thought of before.
SHAKESPEARE’S WILL
By Vern Theissen
Presented by the Stratford Festival Of Canada
**** (out of five)
For show and ticket information, click here.
