Since 1988, Repercussion Theatre’s annual Shakespeare-in-the-Park production has toured green spaces in and around Montreal every summer, bringing together the Bard’s best plays, local talent, outdoor theatre, and the curious masses for an event that takes age-old themes and makes them incredibly accessible for new audiences.
This year’s production is Measure for Measure—one of Shakespeare’s so-called “problem plays,” which deals with complex social issues where the lines between right and wrong are blurred. Ten outstanding actors and a stunning set design cast a spell over the park for the three-hour production.
In this tale, Duke Vincentio leaves Vienna in charge of his much more morally rigid deputy, Angelo, who shuts down the city’s brothels and sentences Claudio, a young gentleman, to death for impregnating his fiancée, Juliet. What follows is a twist of sisterly requests for mercy, blackmail, corruption, threatened virtue, and exquisite trickery that brings the play to a head with humour, a touch of risqué, and a satisfying end the way only Shakespeare can craft it.
Repercussion Theatre does here what it does best. Measure for Measure has been updated for 2019 with fabulous costumes and a contemporary twist in both movement and the delivery of classic lines that will leave the audience captivated and often highly amused. As well as seething with timeless anger that’s incredibly recognizable in today’s #MeToo world.
“If this play shows us anything,” says Measure for Measure director Amanda Kellock, “it’s that laws that ignore human complexity will never lead to justice. And mercy is only possible when we recognize that we are all frail.”
New this year, attendees can download the Plank app to follow the play in French (or English!). Rent a signature Shakespeare-in-the-Park chair for your viewing comfort, grab a snack at the concession stand, spread out your blanket, have a picnic, and sit back to enjoy one of the lesser-known but more interestingly provocative of Shakespeare’s plays.
There’s even a surprising pop finale that Shakespeare would surely have tapped his toes to.
The Shakespeare-in-the-Park schedule runs until August 11th.
