Otherwise, Shakespeare is thoroughly, ambitiously remade in “The Winter’s Tale” by director Karla Boos of Quantum Theatre, Andres Cladera and the musicians of Chatham Baroque, the dancers of Attack Theatre and designers of inordinate invention.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Quantum Theatre’s version of Shakespeare's 'The Winter’s Tale' delightfully makes something old something new
Otherwise, Shakespeare is thoroughly, ambitiously remade in “The Winter’s Tale” by director Karla Boos of Quantum Theatre, Andres Cladera and the musicians of Chatham Baroque, the dancers of Attack Theatre and designers of inordinate invention.
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I was very lucky to witness this delightful new take on Shakespeare myself and i was truly delighted. I admit, i had never seen The Winter's Tale before seeing it preformed by Quantum Theatre but I think the addition of the music and the fascinating use of media to tell the story really kept me entertained and intrigued the entire time. One of my favorite aspects that they added was the use of the dancers to tell the story and bring a whole new energy to the play. They did a great job of adding another level to the piece and helped me understand the play in greater depth through their interpretive dance. One of the most interesting aspects I thought, was the use of media and the projection on the curtains. Hearing Susan Tsu talk about the creative process behind it made me admire how it was used to connect so many parts of the play together and bring yet another source of fascination to the piece. The use of the screens for the statue and the inventive use of them for the bear were awesome to see.
I personally wasn't huge on The Winter's Tale, as far as the opera aspect of it went. Thankfully, the tech elements were so far above what you would have expected that the show was still fantastic to watch. As the opening line of the article states, an actor is pursued offstage by a bear, but the bear is a projection, and the effect of "chasing" is created by having a chorus member hold a screen and run towards the actor, as if he was carrying the bear with him. Such a use of media is something I had never seen before. The costumes were also some of the best I have ever seen, with ornate detail being paid to every square inch of fabric, hair, and makeup. Since we saw it on the preview night, there were still little notes attached to the costumes, but that was really just a funny think to notice for everyone else in the house who knew theatre. The orchestration was also beautiful, and the fact that the actors interacted with the conductor gave it another element of interactivity that helped you stay connected, since the opera aspects, again, were very ponderous.
it was a pleasure to see this show, and I agree whole-heartedly. I'm a huge choral music fan, and to see Shakespeare set to many beautiful and fitting baroque choral pieces was a delight. I can't imagine how complicated it was to sort through the years of the baroque pieces to find songs fitting in style and text for the show. So, kudos to them for that. The musicians were so talented, from the pit to the stage. I was particularly impressed with the tenor, part of the duo of young lovers. He was so smitten, and his voice was rich and very fitting.
Another very cool modern aspect of the show was the media. The use of media to sort of set the show in a fanciful, new world was incredible and perfectly used. The bear chase was inventive and poignant, rather than being a joke or gimmick. And, of course, Susan's costumes were beautiful. The silicone caulking used to create the gold on the dresses was inventive as well and replicated the look amazingly. I loved the theme of the people of the court and all of their similarly patterened dress.
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