Displaying items by tag: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)'s Pericles, direct from a "triumphant" (The Telegraph) run at the company's home in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK. One of the world's preeminent theater companies, the RSC returns to Chicago for the first time in 30 years as part of a new, ongoing partnership with CST.

Tamara Harvey directs this major new production of Shakespeare's moving tale in her and Daniel Evans' first season as the RSC's co‑artistic directors. The Guardian raved about the UK premiere, "Pericles could not have been done better." This exclusive engagement runs October 20–December 7 in the Courtyard Theater, marking CST's 100th international production bringing the world's great artists to Chicago.

When Prince Pericles solves a riddle set by the neighboring King, he knows the answer could get him killed. Fleeing for safety, he finds himself swept away on an epic voyage that will see him battle princes, marry his true love, and become a father. But this is also a journey of storms and shipwrecks, abduction and devastating loss. Adrift in an ocean of grief, will Pericles ever see his family again?

"It is a huge pleasure to be bringing the Royal Shakespeare Company back to Chicago for the first time in 30 years with this most timely and beautiful production of Pericles," said CST's artistic director Edward Hall. "The inaugural production as co‑artistic director from Tamara Harvey is a rare opportunity for audiences to immerse themselves in this thought-provoking and wise story brought to life by an exceptionally talented company. This marks the beginning of a partnership between the RSC and CST in an expression of the shared passion for Shakespeare long held by us, Tamara Harvey, and Daniel Evans."

Harvey shared, "As I stepped with excitement and trepidation into the rehearsal room to create this, my RSC debut, I wouldn't have dared hope that the experience could be so joyful and creatively exhilarating. This company of actors is extraordinary, and we are thrilled to welcome Zach Wyatt as Pericles for the next leg of our journey together, whose professional debut—a very Pericles-like note of connection and reunion—was with Ed Hall when he was artistic director of Hampstead Theatre in London."

She continued, "Sharing this lesser-known Shakespeare with audiences in Stratford‑upon‑Avon has confirmed our belief that Pericles' perennial relevance is compelling, with its examination of leadership, endurance, loss, and hope. We can't wait to share this beautiful play with Chicago Shakespeare Theater's audiences as together we start to write the next chapter in the centuries-old story of collaboration between our two nations."

Zach Wyatt leads the cast of the Chicago engagement in the title role of Prince Pericles. Wyatt has been seen onstage in the West End production of A Little Life, Bartholomew Fair and The Merry Wives of Windsor at The Globe, Wild East at the Young Vic, and I And You at Hampstead Theatre. His television and film credits include The Witcher: Blood Origin, Timestalker, and Blithe Spirit.

The company also includes Miles Barrow (Thaliard/Boult), Philip Bird (Helicanus), Jacqueline Boatswain (Cerimon/Bawd), Rachelle Diedericks (Marina), Chyna‑Rose Frederick (Antiochus' Daughter/Lychorida/Diana), Sasha Ghoshal (Ensemble), Leah Haile (Thaisa), Felix Hayes (Anitochus/Pander), Kel Matsena (Lysimachus), Miriam O'Brien (Ensemble), Emmanuel Olusanya (Ensemble), Chukwuma Omambala (Cleon), Sam Parks (Escanes, Leonine), Christian Patterson (Simonides), and Gabby Wong (Dionyza).

Joining Harvey on the creative team are Jonathan Fensom (Set Designer), Kinnetia Isidore (Costume Designer), Ryan Day (Lighting Designer), Claire van Kampen (Composer),Claire Windsor (Sound Designer), Annie‑Lunnette Deakin-Foster (Movement Director), Charlotte Sutton CDG (Casting Director),Elinor Peregrin (Music Director), Tess Dignan (Voice and Text), Francesca Murray-Fuentes (Associate Director), Zoë Thomas‑Webb (Associate Costume Designer), and Juliano Zaffino (Textual Consultant).

The press opening for Pericles is scheduled for Friday, October 25 at 7:00 p.m. 

More information at www.chicagoshakes.com/pericles or on social media at @chicagoshakes.

Pericles

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Tamara Harvey
October 20–December 7, 2024
Courtyard Theater

PERFORMANCE LISTING

• Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. (except November 12 and 19)
• Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (no matinee on October 23 and no evening on November 27)
• Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. (except November 28)
• Fridays at 7:00 p.m. 
• Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
• Sundays at 2:00 p.m. (additional performances at 6:00 p.m. on October 20 and 7:00 p.m. on December 1)

Chicago Shakespeare strives to make its facility and performances accessible to all patrons. Accessible seating, assistive listening devices, large-print and Braille programs, and sensory tools are available at every performance. Enhanced performances include:

• Audio-described performance with optional touch tour – Sunday, November 17 2:00 p.m.
  A program that provides spoken narration of a play's key visual elements for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Touch Tours provide patrons the opportunity to experience, firsthand, a production's design elements.
• Open captioning – Wednesday, November 20 at 1:00 & 7:00 p.m.
  A text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, synced live with the action onstage.
• Projected Spanish translated performance - Thursday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m.
  A text display of the words of the play, translated into Spanish, synced live with the dialogue.
• ASL interpreted performance – Friday, November 22, at 7:00 p.m.
  All dialogue and lyrics are translated into American Sign Language by two certified interpreters

From Twelfth Night’s well-known opening lines “If music be the food of love, play on …,” the stage is set for Shakespeare’s madcap comedy of misplaced love and mixed-up identities. Woven throughout this production are the colors, culture, and Caribbean-inspired music that play almost as important a role as the actors on stage.

There are those who prefer their Shakespeare straight up and true to the Bard’s written word and intended setting. I, however, am not one of them. I enjoy seeing Shakespeare’s plays reimagined and reset into different settings and time periods, and I was thoroughly enchanted and entertained by director Tyrone Phillips’ interpretation of Twelfth Night.

In his debut as a director at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Phillips brings his personal background to the stage as a first-generation Jamaican America. The island kingdom of Shakespeare’s Illyria comes to life under Phillips’ direction as a Caribbean paradise, complete with swaying palm trees, a sandy shore, and a reggae-inspired beat that pulses throughout the show.

There’s no way you can leave the theatre without a smile on your face, as if you’ve just been on a mini-vacation.

We first meet the Duke Orsino, played by Yao Dogbe, a talented veteran of Chicago Shakespeare, lamenting his unrequited love for Countess Olivia, who has declared a seven-year period of mourning for her brother. The duke’s emissaries have all been rejected, and he is at wit’s end.

That is, until a spectacular storm at sea deposits the young Viola, aptly played by Jaeda LaVoone in her debut at Chicago Shakes, on the beach of Illyria. Believing that her twin brother, Sebastian, has drowned in the storm, she disguises herself as a young lad, Cesario, and seeks employment with the duke. There’s something about the well-spoken Cesario that prompts the duke to send him to Olivia to proclaim the duke’s love to her.

Viola is immediately smitten by the duke, but vows to serve her master, and so as Cesario, goes off to see Olivia, wonderfully played by Christiana Clark. Craziness ensues as Olivia becomes love-struck with Cesario, and comically, Viola finds herself trying to extract herself from this awkward love triangle.

Throw into the mix the subplot of characters, led by Olivia’s uncle, Sir Toby Belch, (Ronald L. Conner), and his sidekick, Sir Andrew (Alex Goodrich), who plot to prank the uptight Malvolio, Olivia’s stalwart steward, by leading him to believe that his mistress is deeply in love with him. Add the surprise appearance of Olivia’s twin, Sebastian, who in actuality also survived the shipwreck, and the series of mistaken identities that result add to the chaotic comedy.

 But, as with all Shakespeare’s comedies, all is resolved in the final scenes. Brother and sister are reunited. The Duke and Olivia, at last, find their true loves (and not with each other!), and even the mistreated Malvolio realizes that “everyone is fragile,” and makes his peace with his adversaries.

The production is a homecoming of sorts for Phillips, who first visited Chicago Shakespeare as a teen and later performed on its stage in A Midsummer’s Night Dream.  He has assembled a talented group of predominantly African-American actors who bring an energy and authenticity to the show. For me, the performances by Clark’s Olivia and Paul Oakley Stovall’s Malvolio stood out. Clark’s Olivia is bold, beautiful, and determined to win Cesario’s love. I was captivated by her larger-than-life presence whenever she was on stage. And Stovall shines as the puritanical prude, Malvolio, who underscores his performance with a subtle gesture or a raised eyebrow.

From the opening scene where Olivia’s jester Feste (Israel Erron Ford) invites islanders to stroll with him to a reggae-inspired beat to the curtain-call where the entire cast dances to that same exuberant rhythm, Twelfth Night is an energetic, joyous, laugh-out loud romp that is sure to entertain – a perfect escape for a couple hours from the holiday stress.

You can still get in on the fun as Chicago Shakespeare extended its run through Dec. 3.