Friends, Lillooetans, theatregoers, lend them your ears – and anything else required to enjoy the wildly funny play, The Shakespeare Show.
The play, written and performed by members of Monster Theatre, is the final presentation of the season for Lillooet Music.
St. Andrew’s United Church is the venue for the performance, with show time set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 27.
The Shakespeare Show poses the tantalizing question, “How did an illiterate son of a glover become the Greatest Playwright in the History of the World?” Its answer: “He got someone else to write the plays!”
Reviewers have called the The Shakespeare Show “relentlessly clever…hilarious…action-packed…intelligent and irreverent.” It’s based on the greatest theatrical debate of all time – Who wrote Shakespeare’s plays? Playwright, actor and Monster Theatre artistic director Ryan Gladstone has his own candidate, Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.
According to Gladstone‘s premise, Oxford, like one of his own tragic heroes, sets his own tragedy in motion by using Will Shakespeare, the boy who holds his horses outside the theatre, as a ‘front’ for his play-writing ventures. From there, the adventure takes off with puppets, songs, satire and swordfights. The two-actor cast portrays 30 characters, including the Ghost of Christopher Marlowe, Anne Hathaway and Queen Elizabeth I herself.
According to CBC Winnipeg, “This play is so damn clever, even if you don’t know any Shakespeare you’ll still understand it. If you have a love for language, physical comedy and intelligent wit, then the Shakespeare Show is for you.”
Playgoers have the opportunity to enjoy a special evening by combining The Shakespeare Show with dinner before the show. A lasagna dinner with all the trimmings will be served in the St. Andrew’s church hall at 6 p.m. There is an additional charge for the dinner. Seating for the dinner is limited so book early to avoid disappointment.
Editor’s Note: I am a director of Lillooet Music.
