Twelfth Night
To open their 35th season, Vancouver’s iconic Shakespeare company, Bard on the Beach, presented “Twelfth Night,” a production directed by Diana Donnelly. The whimsical classic comedy of unrequited love and mistaken identity is given a cheeky carnival theme. The action is set within a travelling circus called Illyria. Set designer Pam Johnson and costume designer Mara Gottler have leaned fully into this fun and zany world, and the script has even been tweaked to shift the principal characters from countesses, captains, and dukes, to stage magicians, singers, and clowns. Even practical magic touches have been incorporated. The chaos and confusion of the plot, and the over the top personalities of the characters play perfectly into the world of this circus.
The show was stolen by the deliciously hammy Malvolia. As the star, Olivia’s stage manager (the countess’ steward in the original), actor Dawn Petten drew huge laughs with an excellent portrayal of contemptible stuffiness and humiliation. Petten lifted the performances of all who played alongside her, including her equally hammy foils, Nathan Kay as Sir Aguecheek, and Marcus Youssef as Sir Toby.
Another memorable player was Anton Lipovetsky as Feste. Heaps of musical talent and comedic chops made his regular entries into and between scenes a highlight of the evening.
Hamlet
A concept six years in the making, this present day rendition of Hamlet is a brainchild of the director, Stephen Drover, and lead actor, Nadeem Phillip Umar Khitab, that finally manifested, with the right cast, in the right place, and at the time.
Set in modern times, this Hamlet breaks hard with the portrayal of the protagonist as brooding, depressed, almost pathetic, which is often seen in its contemporary adaptations. Khitab gives us a fiery and wrathful Hamlet, full of the brash arrogance of youth. A breath of fresh air, his passionate performance completely changes the dynamics of the rest of the cast. Musical dance numbers are used throughout to great effect, most notable for Hamlet’s asides to the audience. These often take place “outside of time” while the rest of the cast is frozen mid-dance. This device beautifully emphasizes Hamlet’s emotional isolation.
Nadeem’s performance as Hamlet is truly incredible and shines amongst his cast members.
In the scenes that cut from the party dance floor to Hamlet’s inner madness, Nadeem’s display of emotions is so convincing, and so palpable. It brought the audience into Hamlet’s madness as we watched him process grief amongst a room full of friends and family having a party. I’m sure scenes like these happen to most of us when our mind takes us to a place far away from the present. This show depicted that experience very vividly.
Kate Besworth’s Ophelia also showed us another version of processing grief, and how one’s mental and emotional state can crumble without the right support, and ultimately lead to a tragic end.
Bard on the Beach has brought must-see productions this year. Get your tickets here!
– Maya Prasasto