Fredericton group to perform Shakespeare classics
Published Thursday June 25th, 2009
Bard in the Barracks provides summertime alternative to mindless television.
In a world where reality TV shows and an endless chain of home makeover shows are among the most watched programs these days, it's comforting to know there is still an audience interested in live theatre. Free from the prefab polish and glitter, expensive marketing budgets, and multi-take edits that back the world of television, Fredericton's Bard in the Barracks theatre company annually presents a wonderful alternative to sitting in front of the box, theatre in the most classic of forms "" Shakespeare, live and uncut.
Grown out of the Notable Acts Theatre Festival, an annual theatre festival focusing on new works by New Brunswick playwrights which began in 2002, Bard in the Barracks has become a favourite city attraction during the summer months.
"Bard in the Barracks was started as a way of funding the main festival," said Len Falkenstein, the company's artistic director. "It's distinct from Notable Acts with its own board of directors. Although it does share a lot of personal, we see it as its own entity and it's Shakespeare in its pure form."
The company has received outstanding reviews since first introducing Shakespeare to the city's long list of summer activities a few years ago.
"The response has been excellent," said Falkenstein. "People love Shakespeare and especially outdoor Shakespeare. We've had phenomenal response from the community and excellent responses from the media, who've given us great reviews.
"Just about every major city in Canada has an outdoor Shakespeare production in one form or another," he said. "After all, the plays were written for a very simple outdoor stage. You don't need an elaborate set or stage machinery to do the plays. They can be done very simply."
As the name states, Bard in the Barracks was originally conceived as a theatre production for the Barracks Square area of downtown. Due to construction in the barracks area this year, the company was forced to relocate their production elsewhere. According to Falkenstein, the relocation was a blessing is disguise.
"Our previous performances up until this year have always been in Barrack's Square downtown," he said. "That location has worked out very well for us. This year, we've moved to Odell Park because of the construction that's going on at the barrack's building, but also because doing A Midsummer Night's Dream in the forest was a natural choice."
Presenting the play in the forest of Odell Park has introduced several new possibilities to Falkenstein and the others involved in the production of this play. Since the story takes place mainly in the forests surrounding Athens, the park's vast green spaces provide the perfect backdrop and present the company with an opportunity to tell the story in a most unique fashion.
"We're presenting the play in a very non-conventional way," said Falkenstein. "It's not a case of the audience sitting in one spot watching the play, the play is actually being done at different locations throughout the park and the audience gets led from location to location.
"The play starts off in the court of Athens and then everyone runs off to the forest. We start off down in the main area of the park and then we all move off into the forest. There are some absolutely stunning locations that we're using for scenes. We've got people in trees and climbing over rocks," he said. "It's very interactive with the landscape and very interactive with the audience as well. It's going to be something really different and something Fredericton audiences won't have experienced before."
Matthew Spinney plays the character Bottom in the play. Having worked with The Calathumpians, another outdoor theatre troupe that is active in the city's downtown during the summer months, he has a lot of experience with outdoor drama but is still excited about the challenges associated with this particular performance.
"It's really interesting and I think it's a bit more challenging in terms of making sure you know when to come in for your scene and that sort of thing because you may be behind or ahead of the audience waiting for your cue," he said.
"I hope the audience will enjoy it," said Spinney. "It really is gorgeous in the woods and it really adds to the atmosphere of the story."
The park itself presents are variety of locations for actors and scenes to take on a new and exciting life.
"I know Len spent a good amount of time walking through the park picking out interesting looking spots," said Spinney, "and when we all got together, we did another walk through, shared some thoughts and plotted out an exciting route for the action of the play. We also had to plot out when and where to run ahead and do costume changes and that sort of thing. It certainly adds a level of complexity to the show. I'm definitely looking forward to it."
Environmental challenges aside, presenting any work of Shakespeare can be a challenge in itself. As artistic director, Falkenstein enjoys the challenge of presenting Shakespeare to an audience in a way that will not only appeal to people visually, but also in a way that they will be able to understand the dialogue.
"The thing about Shakespeare is that it is so open to interpretation," said Falkenstein. "Every production will be different and there are so many ways of addressing contemporary issues and making it speak to contemporary audiences. That is the challenge with Shakespeare. You can't get around the fact that it is a 400 year old play with a language that has changed considerably."
Slight adaptations to Shakespeare stories are common. As Falkenstein explains, taking the story and putting it in a modern setting often helps the audience relate to the overall character of the piece.
"This year with this production we've set it to take place at the posh 'Athens Springs Country Club'," he said. "The humans in the play are all members of this elite club. We've got people driving up in golf carts and fairies living in the rough.
"It's things like this that put a bit of a twist on it and make people smile. It's not like we're corrupting the play in doing this. We're simply taking it from the time in which it was originally written and placing it into our time."
The language used by Shakespeare, which was of course that language of the times, is often a test for any audience. Certain phrases and word pairing used throughout the plays are often a source of confusion for those not familiar with the text. Any theatre company presenting Shakespeare for the masses must take this challenge into consideration.
"There will always be different levels of response from people," said Falkenstein. "There will be some people in the audience who know every line of the play and could quote it back to you and there will be people who know very little about the play. I think it comes down to the actors and the director. They have to know the language inside and out so that they can convey the meaning properly. There is so much you can do physically to convey what is being said. Often we trim some of the more obscure stuff that nobody will get and that's a very common practice. I think you'd find that in a performance, even people who have a very hard time with Shakespeare will get most of it."
This year's Bard in the Barracks presentation of A Midsummer Night's Dream is scheduled to run from June 24 to July 4.
Patrons should arrive at the park by 7:15 p.m. to allow time to make it to play starting point. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. sharp. Tickets available at the door or in advance at River Valley Crafts and the Lighthouse on the Green. Tickets $12; $10 Student/Senior; under 12 free; Tuesday, June 30 tickets are 2 for 1.
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