Edward III , and: The Two Noble Kinsmen (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Edward III, and: The Two Noble Kinsmen M. Tyler Sasser Edward IIIPresented by The Atlanta Shakespeare Company at the The New American Shakespeare Tavern, Atlanta, Georgia. March 17-April 17, 2011. Directed by Andrew Houchins. Production Stage Manager Cindy Kearns. Assistant Stage Manager Deborah McGriff. Costumes by Anné Carole Butler. Fight Director Drew Reeves. With J. Tony Brown (Earl of Warwick), John Curran (Lord Audley), Matt Felten (Prince Edward), Paul Hester (Earl of Salisbury), Josie Burgin Lawson (Queen Philippe), Vinnie Mascola (Earl of Derby), Stuart McDaniel (Lord Percy and Lodwick), William S. Murphey (King of France), Drew Reeves (King Edward III), Mary Russell (Countess of Salisbury and French Woman), et al.. The Two Noble KinsmenPresented by The Atlanta Shakespeare Company at the The New American Shakespeare Tavern, Atlanta, Georgia. March 11-April 16, 2011. Directed by Troy Willis. Production Stage Manager Cindy Kearns. Assistant Stage Manager Deborah McGriff. Costumes by Anné Carole Butler. Fight Director Drew Reeves. Choreography by Katie Grace Morton. Music by Debra Peterson, Clarke Weigle, Stuart McDaniel, and Amee Vyas. With Nicholas Faircloth (Gerrold), Paul Hester (Wooer), Andrew Houchins (Theseus), Kathryn Lawson (Emilia), Matt Nitchie (Arcite), Daniel Parvis (Palamon), Winslow Thomas ( Jailer), Amee Vyas (Jailer's Daughter and Nymph), Clark Weigle (Doctor), et al.. On March 17 th, 2011, with their inaugural performance of Edward III, the ASC became the first American theatre company to produce the 39 plays attributed to Shakespeare. In doing so, it joined the ranks of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, both of which pride themselves, rightfully so, on having completed Shakespeare's canon, though only a 37 or 38-play version. Philip C. Sneed, Artistic Director of the CSF, dismisses Edward IIIas a legitimate part of the Shakespeare canon, stating in The Huffington Post"I can't quote you the number of lines I think Shakespeare might have written in Edward—just feels like it's not enough to call it a Shakespeare." Likewise, Patrick Spottiswoode, director of Globe education for the Globe Theatre in London, says that the Royal Shakespeare Company has done what they consider the entire canon, which includes The Two Noble Kinsmenbut not Edward III(qtd. in huffingtonpost.com). Despite their fervent desire to complete a 39-play canon, the ASC in no way compromised their full-scale productions. These were not mere "readings" of Edward IIIand The Two Noble Kinsmen, as many acting companies have staged, but a repertory comprising 28 performers. Since its opening in 1984, the ASC has remained dedicated to "original practice," where they hope to produce their plays as they were staged for early modern audiences. Their ultimate goal is for their audience to experience a play in "a manner consistent with its creator's original intent," and both of these productions emphasized the values of Renaissance staging elements. [End Page 667] Drew Reeves's King Edward experienced a range of emotions generally not seen in Shakespearean monarchs, including even Hal/Henry V, and the convincing nature of the character's polarity demonstrated the actor's range. Easily persuaded of his right to the French throne, this megalomaniacal king ended 1.1 by authoritatively telling his military that though they "do commence / A famous war," they should all nonetheless move "cheerfully forward" and "naught use delay." Yet, Edward did delay, Reeves's Edward especially. He oscillated from a commanding officer preparing for war to a love-struck romantic when he met the Countess of Salisbury. Edward's bewitchment by the Countess in 1.2 occurred in an unregal manner akin to Orlando's infatuation with Rosalind in As You Like It. In perhaps the most comic scene in an otherwise serious history concerned with the beginning of the Hundred Years' War, Edward convinced Lodwick to assist him as he wrote poetry to the Countess. Edward knew that Lodwick was "well read in poetry, / and hath a lusty and persuasive spirit," yet it was that spirit that surfaced in Reeves's wonderfully jocular performance of this scene. Sitting together on a small, wooden bench, Edward placed his arm around Lodwick and told him to write in verse what he dictated. Edward became lost...