After a long winter of musical theatre, director Randy Read ushers in Peterborough’s summer theatrical season with the New Stages production of John Murrell’s Taking Shakespeare at the Market Hall from May 22nd to May 30th.
Starring Gemini Award winning actress Catherine Fitch (Butterbox Babies, Slings and Arrows, Road to Avonlea) in the role of “The Prof”, and recent National Theatre School of Canada graduate Andrew Chown in the role of Murph, New Stages continues its tradition of bringing big talent to our community — giving Peterborough audiences a chance to see a different caliber of theatre.
After a break of over a decade from writing dramatic productions, award-winning playwright John Murrell first premiered Taking Shakespeare in Calgary in 2012. A year later, the show was produced at the Stratford Festival where it became one of the biggest hits of the 2013 season.
At times it seems that the term “Shakespeare” in the title of a play can be a daunting thing: it has the potential to intimidate an audience. While some people have a passion for Shakespeare, others are repelled by the idea of him.
In the case of Taking Shakespeare, there’s no reason to be intimidated. Even the most limited knowledge of the Bard and his works will not hinder audience members from connecting with the characters and finding themselves drawn into the drama.
Although the show celebrates the study of Shakespeare, especially his famous tragedy Othello, the story is not about Shakespeare as much as how the study of his works creates a bond between two very different people.
Taking Shakespeare revolves around the unlikely pairing of a disillusioned literary professor and a slacker obsessed with video games.
Murph is the son of the dean of humanities at a small unnamed university. Despite being highly intelligent and having his own set of fresh ideas, Murph is barely passing his courses and shows little interest in his studies.
In an attempt to motivate him, his mother sends him to be tutored by her former mentor (“The Prof”) at the latter’s home. However, The Prof has come to her own dramatic crossroads. Depressed and disillusioned with her life, she’s barely functioning and has little interest in teaching the cocky young man.
But when Murph pulls out Othello — which The Prof deems as being “her play” — the pair begin an uneasy emotional journey together as they work through the famous tragedy together.
Along the way, they begin to understand the tragedies in their own lives as they deal with university politics, parental manipulation, regrets from the past, and the uncertainty of the future.
The beauty of Taking Shakespeare is watching the bond between the two characters grow throughout the production.
In the beginning, there’s a jarring disconnect between Murph and The Prof. The Prof is hostile and Murph is uninterested. However, slowly through each lesson, the connection between the two grows organically as The Prof finds her spark again within the literature and as Murph begins to discover the meaning in the text.
In time, a powerful connection grows between the two as The Prof becomes the only person who seems to be able to inspire Murph, and Murph becomes the only person who seems to interest The Prof. It’s a sweet relationship somewhere between mentorship and friendship not often seen on stage.
Yet, despite finding emotional and intellectual rejuvenation in deconstructing Othello together, the odds are stacked against the pair — making Taking Shakespeare a tragedy within itself.
Yet, once she begins to delve into Othello, the audience gets to see the passion and the brilliance of the woman who once was — making her current state of affairs all the more tragic.
Andrew Chown gives a good-natured and three-dimensional performance as Murph. Although he comes into the show a bit guarded and somewhat cocky, the audience instantly knows that, despite his slacker attitude, Murph has some “out of the box” ideas. He often makes some bonehead observations about Shakespeare (such as a gag about the titles being too long) but, while discussing his early thoughts on Hamlet, Murph clearly has some interesting alternative ideas.
As the drama continues, the audience can see the light turn on in Murph’s head as he begins to both emotionally and intellectually connect with Othello, and as the passion that The Prof has for Shakespeare is transferred to Murph. Despite being intellectually awakened, Murph is unwilling to compromise who he is deep inside, which becomes one of the strengths of the character.
Although large portions of the play are dedicated to the actors deconstructing Othello, no knowledge of that play is necessary to understand or enjoy Taking Shakespeare. Othello is not one of Shakespeare’s plays that I’m at all familiar with but, after going through it with the actors, it’s peaked my curiosity to see Othello for myself. So not only does Murph find an interest in Shakespeare in the production, but perhaps the audience will as well.
New Stages’ Taking Shakespeare is an intelligent production filled with emotion and passion, with a mix of comedy and tragedy. It’s a perfect way to start off what is gearing up to be an interesting summer season for theatre in the Kawarthas. Director Randy Read continues his commitment to bringing the best that Ontario has to offer to Peterborough, giving our community a rare chance to see professional theatre in our city.
Taking Shakespeare runs from May 22nd and 23rd and May 28th to 30th at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on May 24th. Tickets are $28 general admission and $13 for students and can be purchased at the Market Hall Box Office.
