SUMMER SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
Every summer The Old Globe puts together the Summer Shakespeare Festival and this year there is a number of exceptional plays to choose from. This year The Globe brings to you three outstanding shows; “TWELFTH NIGHT”, “CORIOLANUS”, and “CYRANO DE BERGERAC”. Although all three shows are completely different from the other they are all written by the William Shakespeare and Edmond Rostand. And all include a 21st century twist.
To begin the 2009 Summer Festival, we begin with a delightful tale of TWELFTH NIGHT filled with wild infatuation and mistaken identities. Stuck on the rocky coast of Illyria, Viola a beautiful and high-spirited woman disguises herself as a man to protect her hone from this strange land and finds a job a page in the court of the lovesick Duke Orsino. But as Viola slowly starts to fall in love with her new, Olivia, whom Orsino is pursuing - finds herself attracted to this new young man, who’s really Viola in disguise. During the show, a servant Maria and the drunken Sir Toby Belch conspire to enact a riotous revenge on the hilariously servant Malvio. If you’re not looking for the poetic tragedy but would rather watch a comedy come watch this.
One play I think everyone should come and see is CYRANO DE BERGERAC. This show is one of the most produced plays of all time written by Shakespeare. The show is a well rounded show filled with drama, comedy, and action-adventure and of course an old fashion love story. And including the cliché characters you would see in every Shakespeare play. Cyrano has it all, except the women of his dreams. He finds Roxane who he believes is his true love. However, she is ashamed of his large nose, Cyrano does whatever he can to woo her but is unable too. Meanwhile, during the show Christian a handsome yet inarticulate man falls for Roxane, Cyrano helps Christian with poetic words to win her heart. After doing so, Cyrano’s hopes seem dashed forever, until fate steps in.
And last but not least Shakespeare’s final tragedy and which is also considered one of his greatest. CORIOLANUS is a political drama and tells the story of a great Roman general whose arrogance leads to his own downfall. This has to be one of Shakespeare’s most provocative plays, the show is a mesmerizing story that unfolds as both a personal tragedy and political thriller. Coriolanus is manipulated by his power hungry mother Volumina (one of Shakespeare’s great female roles) and his unwillingness to compromise his principles as his world starts to get out hand and begins to control his crusade for vengeance.
CYRANO DE BERGERAC VIDEO
IF YOU ARE UNDER 3O, YOU CAN GET $20 TICKETS FOR THE OLD GLOBE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL. GO TO WWW.THEOLDGLOBE/20UNDER30 for discounted tickets. You will have to show I.D when picking them up.