Review: I AM WILLIAM at the Stratford Festival is a Thoughtful, Funny, and Important Re-Telling of History

Every year, the Stratford Festival mounts a production geared towards young people and I was thrilled to see that despite the unique season that COVID protocols have demanded, the Festival still made this a priority. What's more, they have made a truly interesting and fun choice in I AM WILLIAM - A play by Rébecca Déraspe and Théâtre le Clou with the english translation by Leanna Brodie. Director Esther Jun, Choreographer Alyssa Martin, Dramaturge Kamana Ntibarikure, three musicians including Music Director Njo Kong Kie, and a fabulous four person company, delight audiences with a clever, funny, and thoughtful family-friendly production that is sure to have theatre-goers of all ages engaging in meaningful conversations one minute, while singing a catchy 'horse' song to themselves the next.

I AM WILLIAM is about Margaret Shakespeare (William's sister), a young woman who loves to write but must do so in secret because girls who knew how to read and write in 1577 were persecuted for being suspected witches. This story is obviously a work of fiction, but the gross inequities faced by women that it is featured around are not fiction at all. With this story, the playwright takes on the gargantuan task of of making the play fun and accessible while not shying away from the realities of the time, keeping the story straight forward enough for young audiences without oversimplifying it to the point of making it reductive; and lastly, acknowledging more complex discussions about gender and gender roles that we are having today. The director and company then need to find the right tone as they perform this piece. This could not have been an easy undertaking but they have very much succeeded.

Playing Margaret and making her Stratford debut is Shakura Dickson. Her charisma and openness make it easy for the audience to immediately root for her. There is a lot of music in and quite frankly, it is a big sing for the part of Margaret in particular! Dickson has a lovely and powerful singing voice that takes us into Margaret's innermost thoughts. Her songs are often deep and introspective and they work well within the narrative of the play.

Playing Margaret's twin brother William Shakespeare (you may have heard of him), and also making his Stratford debut, is Landon Doak. In this production, William is likeable and well-meaning, but is a bit of a dolt. Immature, and ignorant to some of the realities of the world around him, he does not possess the depth of thoughts and words that his sister does when he tries to write. Due to his own privilege and ignorance, he also does not recognize the level of danger that is associated with his sister's love to write and sets a series of events in motion when he shares a play she wrote with a teacher. Doak and Dickson have great chemistry as siblings and play off of each other well. Doak embodies the boyish William with a charm that allows the audience to root for him even when he is unintentionally complicating things.

The other two members of the company are Shannon Taylor and Allan Louis. Both take on double duty as Margaret and William's parents Mary and John, as well as playing Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester, respectively. They both also open and close the play as narrators - something done very effectively to first establish what we are about to see, and then to remind us of why stories like these - even fictional ones - are so important to tell.

As the parents, both Taylor and Louis have the unpleasant, but necessary task of being the voice of the times throughout the play - constantly reminding Margaret and the audience of the societal constraints placed on Margaret for being female. This is done well and even while highlighting inequities, they are both very good at making the theatre feel like a safe space for young audience members.

All four actors shine in this production. The singing, the dancing, the humour, and the serious conversations all hit the way they are supposed to. This is particularly impressive given that this is a translation - something I never would have guessed as everything is completely seamless. The lyrics fit well and the tone of the show is always spot on.

The stage design is fun and exciting and it was delightful to see the three musicians on stage wearing Elizabethan garb. The music by Chloé Lacasse and Benoit Landry is beautiful and will serve as a pleasant earworm for days following the play.

The overall message of the play is that there were many true stories of talented and successful women that never got told because of how we have historically limited opportunity for certain people and because of who was writing the history books. This play allows young people to have the opportunity to see themselves in the hero and in doing so, see that they could be that person in the history books. The message is important and inspirational for audiences of all ages, and it is told in a truly engaging way.

I AM WILLIAM continues at the Tom Patterson Theatre Canopy until Sunday, Sept. 12th

Photo Credit: David Hou

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