Bromance, cross-dressing, betrayal, mean pranks, loud arguments, men behaving badly, women giving as good as they get, and an on-stage dog—Will Kempe’s Players, the Capital District’s professional original-practices touring Shakespeare company, is pleased to announce its Summer 2023 season. This year, we’ll be doing two of Shakespeare’s first comedies: The Taming of the Shrew and Two Gentlemen of Verona. (See below for schedule.)
The better-known Taming of the Shrew is a play within a play: as a part of an elaborate prank, players perform before a beggar who is tricked into believing he’s a lord reviving out of a coma. The players’ weave a double romance— Katherine and Petruchio spar for control of their hastily arranged marriage and Bianca and Lucentio scheme to elope, eluding her father and a host of other suitors. And, of course, Will Kempe’s Players “suit the action to the word” in slapstick stagings of lovers’ antics and servant silliness.
Two Gentlemen of Verona, arguably Shakespeare’s earliest extant play, explores first loves, pitting romance against friendship, glamor against familiarity, fidelity against desire. Valentine and Proteus, the “two gents,” seek their fortunes at the court of the Duke of Milan. Proteus betrays both his betrothed Julia and his friend Valentine to woo Silvia, the Duke’s daughter. Fortune tumbles them all into the forest green world, where the lovers’ deeds are brought into sharp focus, and from which they emerge— fortified by hard truths— to begin renewed lives. And if that sounds too grim for a comedy, Two Gents boasts the antics of two masterful clowns AND a real, live dog!
Come July and August, we’ll be roaming the Capital District in our unmistakable green school bus, presenting the plays in repertory on weekends and going wherever a local venue wants two days of low comedy and high culture. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or check this page regularly for more details from venues as they come in. We hope to see you in the audience!
