Dubbed “The villain of Broadway” by Playbill, Tony Award® Nominee and Grammy Award® Winner Patrick Page has never shied away from exploring his dark side. Now, with this tour de force show, he turns his attention to the twisted motivation and hidden humanity at the heart of Shakespeare’s greatest villains. Moving swiftly through the Shakespeare canon, Page illuminates the playwright's ever-evolving conception of evil by delving into more than a dozen of his most wicked creations. Thrilling, biting, hilarious, and enlightening, what Page delivers is a masterclass on the most terrifying subject of them all: human nature.
You don’t have to be a Shakespeare scholar to appreciate Page’s crash course on the history of the villain. He sets the scenes up perfectly and even shares how contemporary TV shows, like Succession and The Simpsons, draw from Shakespeare’s body of work. After the show, I overheard a fellow audience member say she couldn’t wait to bring her class. It’s required watching for anyone interested in Shakespeare, psychology, worldbuilding, and performance. Shakespeare may have invented the villain, but Page sure has perfected it.
The show, an earlier version of which was presented online in 2021, is smartly structured and frequently fascinating, as in a scene between Othello — honorable, deep-voiced — and Iago, feigning guilelessness, whom Page gives a lighter tone. His Malvolio, more narcissist than villain, is comic, then moving; his Ariel, not villainous at all, is ethereal and excellent.
2023 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Solo Performance | Patrick Page |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Patrick Page |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Solo Performance | Patrick Page |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Solo Show | All The Devils Are Here |
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