FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
Shakespeare In the Park
Prince's Island Park
until August 17By Lori Montgomery
Call it a Kenneth Branagh summer. With its annual Shakespeare in the Park offerings, Mount Royal College is giving fans of the Bard a live look at two recent Branagh films, Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing. At times, the shows owe a bit too much to the man who brought Shakespeare back to the masses, but that's the only substantial criticism that can be made of some really fun theatre.
Directed by Nikki Lundmark, the staging of Much Ado (Tuesdays, Thursday, Saturdays) is original without contriving to draw attention to itself. With its commedia dell'arte costumes and a wandering minstrel playing "That's Amore" on an accordion, it doesn't take itself too seriously - the perfect way to spend an evening in the park.
Curt McKinstry is an engaging Benedick, although Branagh's spirit smiles over his shoulder throughout the show. It's particularly evident in Leonato's garden in Act Two, where Benedick becomes convinced that Beatrice loves him. There is a lot of Branagh in that scene, but on the other hand, there has arguably never been a better performance of the role of Benedick than in the Irish director's film version, so the homage can be forgiven. Suzanne McDowell is a strong and satisfyingly ascerbic Beatrice and the pair work well together to generate the tension that makes the play fun, resisting the temptation to let both characters become bland after they succumb to true love.
Branagh's performance in Hamlet was considerably less impressive, so it's a good thing that the production staged by Susanne Gillies-Smith (Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays) wanders less often into that territory. Guest artist Stephen Spender (as the tormented prince) has the advantage of years - although not that many of them - and classical training, and so brings a touch of originality to a role that has been played by all of the great actors (and some of the really bad ones) of his generation. If nothing else, his piercing eyes alone make for a mesmerizing Hamlet.
Gillies-Smith's staging sticks with the medieval Denmark, leaving the profound statements of theme to the playwright (a novel concept in recent years). She seems to trust that her audience can comprehend historical drama and have no need to see Shakespeare dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th century. The result is a completely satisfying Hamlet, pared down to a manageable size and delivered with enough enthusiasm and complexity that it doesn't bore an audience which certainly has seen it many times before.
The busy cast of Shakespeare in the Park (the same cast for both shows) gets a well-deserved break on Monday nights, when local theatre company The Upstart Crows take over the park for their version of Twelfth Night - pure comedy, with Stephen Strachan leading the hilarity as the sincerely pompous Duke Orsino to Rebecca Northan's lovestruck but frustrated Viola. Composed mainly of Shakespeare in the Park alumni and veterans of Shakespeare in the Pub, the little company puts on a show that's every bit as enjoyable as Mount Royal's. They perform on a much smaller scale, without benefit of lights or amplification, calling to mind a medieval troupe of travelling players. One can almost imagine them riding a rickety cart full of homemade and "borrowed" costumes, travelling from town to town, taking over unused stages and accosting passers-by to drum up an audience.
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