Recently, I received a press release from Shakespeare BASH’d stating that the company sold out its performances over the past three years.
That much I already knew. Bravo to the company for its assiduous care in maintaining the integrity of the selected plays.
This month, I’m quite intrigued by their upcoming staging of William Shakespeare’s Troilus & Cressida at Toronto’s The Theatre Centre. A recent press release calls the play a modern marvel that tests the boundaries of genre, and challenges audiences with its fascinating swerves and ambiguous treatment of love, honour, value and war. While some literary scholars and theatre aficionados call it a problem play, according to Co-Artistic Director of BASH’d, Julia Nish-Lapidus, the company has been ruminating for years on whether to stage it for Toronto audiences.
The production is to be directed by James Wallis. Real-life partners and BASH’d regulars Devian Steele and Breanne Tice will tackle the roles of the titular couple. They took a few minutes to share their thoughts about the upcoming production.
They’re both excited to return to the Incubator space at The Theatre Centre. While both recognize the strong influence of BASH’d on Toronto, what keeps them returning is simple. Audience members are always curious about BASH ‘d‘s selection of plays. When BASH’d stages its slate with intimacy, clarity, and a ‘performer-centric’ approach, actors and audience can discover new things. Within the intimacy of the Incubator space, there’s little separation between the actor and the theatre patron, and one can’t help but travel on the journey to another land.
Breanne acknowledges that Troilus manages to both partially fit and then twist away from every category given to Shakespeare’s plays. She says: “It’s pretty unusual in classical work to know that most of the audience has very few or no preconceptions of [Troilus] should be done. In that sense, it feels similar to working on a new play.”
Deivan tells potential audience members that Troilus is Shakespeare’s stab at the Trojan War. Contemporary twenty-first-century audiences will find the play appealing because ‘Ancient Greek stuff’ has been having a moment in literature and film lately. People who are familiar with the broad strokes of The Iliad or The Odyssey will recognize all the usual suspects on both sides of the war. Breanne continues Deivan’s thought: “The characters contend with the dissatisfaction of war and fight each other for status and security with whatever they can wield: strength, sex and influence.”
Steele and Tice are highly complimentary of director Wallis. He’s all about finding the vision in the text itself. While he is deeply knowledgeable about the play and his love of the text is palpable, James is also open to new discoveries in discussion and in staging between the actor and director.
The actors sing praises of associate director Kate Martin (who will play Helen). Wallis and Martin’s partnership enables them to tackle multiple ideas simultaneously. James will explore a scene’s staging, while Kate will chat with an actor about an element the team wants to draw out of the scene. Jennifer Dzialoszynski is doing amazing storytelling work as the fight and intimacy director. Matt Nish Lapidus and Sruthi Suresan introduce those subtle but crucial design elements into the intimate Incubator space.
The following artists will also appear in the production: Austin Eckert, Jordin Hall, Andrew Iles, Julia Nish-Lapidus, Geoffrey Armour, Jennifer Dzialoszynski, David Mackett, Kate Martin, Felix Beauchamp, Isaiah Kolundzic, Adriano Reis, Rianna Persaud and Ben Yoganathan.
This cast appears to be the largest so far in the shows I’ve reviewed at BASH’d.
What’s next for Devian and Breanne once they conclude Troilus and Cressida?
Luckily, they don’t get tired of each other.
This spring, they will be touring schools together. They are the co-creators and performers of The Assembly, an interactive theatre-meets-board-game experience about democracy and long-term thinking. It’s a very different tone from Troilus, and the two are grateful for both performance opportunities.
All performances will take place in the Incubator Space at Toronto’s The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
Tickets are $25 – $50 online at www.shakespearebashd.com.
Showtimes:
Thursday, January 29 – 7:00 pm
Friday, January 30 – 7:00 pm
Saturday, January 31 – 7:00 pm
Sunday, February 1 – 1:00 pm
Tuesday, February 3 – 7:00 pm
Wednesday, February 4 – 7:00 pm
Thursday, February 5 – 7:00 pm
Friday, February 6 – 7:00 pm
Saturday, February 7 – 7:00 pm
Sunday, February 8 – 1:00 pm
