If someone proffered the words stubby, greaser, mirror ball and plaid pants, could you identify the common thread? What if they were to throw in Rambling Man and Cheating Heart? If you guessed Shakespeare, shockingly enough, youd be right.
Bard on the Beach (BOB) is back for its 23rd year, and with it comes director (and UBC alum) Johnna Wright and her interpretation of The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Asked what it was like to be back at the festival this time as a director (she played Titania in Midsummer Nights Dream at BOBs genesis), Wright replied I just found out that this is the same tent [where I debuted] its an amazing feeling and brings back a lot of memories.
Wives, (Its considered to be not one of his greater works, Wright notes), follows Falstaff, a broke, seen-better-days rotund knight who schemes to court two well-to-do married women in the hopes of getting some nookie and financial security. When the women discover his plan, they decide to teach him a lesson.
Setting the play in1968 Ontario may seem odd, but it felt natural to Wright, Well Ontario because of Windsor, and I just feel that the way it comes together is that they are such a diverse group of people and its still a period where women are still kind of traditional.
It also made sense for her knight with Falstaff being the only Brit trying to put one over on people in the colonies.
She takes a similar tack with the rest of the cast. The re-imagining features a panoply of unique characters including a Beatnik, singing housewives, a Clouseau-esque Doctor, and a South Asian Guru among others. Wright notes parenthetically, that even purists should be happy as This is the world, in which you have stubby beers, [but] theres nothing in there that Shakespeare didnt write.
Okay, but what about the country music motif? Once again, Wright has a ready answer.
Someone said something about the play being proto-feminist and to me I think of Loretta Lynn as she wrote songs about feminists and independence. So I associated her with this play and it grew from there.
But The Bards works arent typically known for their musical component, which added a special dimension to the casting.
People had to be able to sing to a degree, Wright explains, and we had to work with the abilities of the people we had, but most of it was people having more ability than they said.
The music was the biggest challenge but also the most fun; [but] learning the songs takes a lot of rehearsal time in addition to the time youre spending learning the lines as you have to know it all.
Further complicating matters, the cast also perform King John on alternate nights and were on a very tight schedule. We started on May 14 but because its a repertory company we had three weeks per show. They worked really hard.
Asked whether the actors ever got their roles confused Wright laughs, I think if youre not wearing a 1960s outfit and are wearing a crown it must be King John.
Wrights Wives is slapstick Shakespearian style: innovative, hilarious and thoroughly entertaining, as evidence by the thunderous applause and standing ovation it received.
Merry Wives plays on alternating evenings from now until Sept. 2. For show and ticket information: bardonthebeach.org
