The Freewill Shakespeare Festival is winding down for another 
summer.
Macbeth (a personal favourite) and Much Ado About Nothing have been taking over the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park for nearly one month. And you’ve got just about one week left to catch the plays.
Tuesday night (why, that’s tonight…) and Saturday matinees are also “Pay-What-You-Will” so you don’t need to even pay the usual $22.50 ($15 for students and seniors) to see one of the great plays.
This reminds me, Romeo + Juliet was on the other night. Transferring the words of Shakespeare into modern day locations just seems weird.
Macbeth (and it is spelled that way, no capital B, an F for you from my high school English teacher) is set in 11th-century Scotland. Was the River City performance set in 11th-century Scotland? No. No it wasn’t.
The best version of “Much Ado” I saw was a Fringe play years ago where, rather than soldiers returning from battle to a Tuscan villa, it was curlers returning from a bonspiel to a small-town Alberta bar. The magic of Shakespeare is just that: the ability to set it in pretty much any location and era, whether it’s star-crossed lovers in Florida or
Hmph.
Whoops, my bad on the capital B. Good catch.
I remember seeing Macbeth, on the stage, a few years ago and it was set in World War II. That did sort of work for it.
I think, however, the stage and movies give it a different feel. I don’t think Shakespeare’s words in modern, or transplanted, locations always work in movies. Plays seem to pull it off better.
Maybe it’s something to do with suspension of disbelief. I think you need to break down your brain’s walls to enjoy a play more than a movie. You’ve got to ignore more of your surroundings to take in the story.
Updated language, but with the same story, ideas, and themes works for me in movies though.
About that curling bonspiel, did they stick with the classic language or update it?