Plays: Rose Rage

I'll just say it: I'm not a huge fan of Shakespeare's histories.  That said, I really enjoyed The Hidden Room's production of Rose Rage, an adaptation that condenses the entire Henry VI trilogy into one two-part, four hour performance.  The company made every effort to approximate the experience of seeing one of Shakespeare's plays in a court setting at the time of its writing.

The venue, the York Rite Temple, lends itself to the experience.  It's a masonic temple, which immediately gives it an air of intrigue that is appropriate for the show.  It's a small, unconventional playing space, with seating running along two walls on either side of the stage.  The seating is nearly level with the floor, putting the audience close to the action, which is fun when they start sword-fighting.  It also provided plenty of opportunity for the actors to interact with the audience, which made for some great comedic moments.  The space had a couple of drawbacks though: it was hot, which made it uncomfortable to sit in for four hours.   And, because of the way the chairs are set up in there, there were major sight line issues for anyone sitting in the second row.  The people involved in the production aren't at fault for those things though, and the actors are actually suffering from the heat just as much, if not more, than the audience in their period costumes.

The costumes are all handmade by members of The Baron's Men, a local theatre troupe that specializes in Shakespeare.  Here are a couple of examples.  

Just like a real Elizabethan performance would have, the show also featured live Elizabethan music, beautifully played by local musicians, and an all male cast, including three guest actors from the U.K. who appeared as part of the Hidden Room's Foreign Actor Exchange Program.  The entire cast did a great job, but those three really stood out.  Many of the actors played more than one role, and the guest actors seemed especially adept at creating distinct characters.  Laurence Pears, who played both Jack Cade and Edward IV, looked like he was having the most fun with his roles, and brought a lot of energy to all his scenes.  Other standouts included James Callas Ball as Duke of Somerset and Lady Elizabeth Gray, Joseph Garlock as Richard (Duke of Gloucester) and Brock England as Queen Margaret.  This cast was so enjoyable to watch, they made the evening fly by.

The show is still playing until this Saturday (the 11th), and I would recommend catching both parts if you can.