Photo Flash: Prague Shakespeare Co.'s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at Main Street Theater New Year's Eve Through 1/15
By: A.A. Cristi Dec. 30, 2016
The Prague Shakespeare Company transports audiences back to 1942 for its telling of William Shakespeare's comedy MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Set in World War II Britain, a group of nurses, wounded servicemen and patriots produce a radio broadcast of the Bard's classic to raise morale of the troops on the front.
Main Street Theater brings this novel interpretation -- directed by Prague Shakespeare Company (PSC) Artistic Director and native Houstonian Guy Roberts -- to its Rice Village location from December 31, New Year's Eve, to January 15, 2017.
MUCH ADO further cements the relationship between the two companies, which became partners and collaborators in 2012. "We are so delighted Rebecca Greene Udden has asked Prague Shakespeare Company to return to Main Street with our production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING," says Roberts.
Much Ado About Something
The PSC production is unique; each performance is audio-broadcast live over the internet à la an old-fashioned radio play. "In addition to long being fascinated with radio plays and particularly Shakespeare plays produced in radio versions, I wanted to find a way to honor the great legacy of Czech air pilots and the efforts of the Czechoslovakian government in exile during the war," shares Roberts. "I have also always had a great fondness for the World War II era efforts of artists to cheer spirits through entertainment."
Audiences at home listen as brave men and women unite together to give a little touch of Shakespeare to the night during World War II while audiences in the theater not only watch the actors record a radio play version of MUCH ADO, but also see the actors create all the sound effects and other behind-the-scenes happenings involved when this group of soldiers and patriots put on a show.
(Performances feature Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Czech Republic Jan Thompson, OBE as Beatrice, Jessica Boone as Hero, Guy Roberts as Benedick and Karel Hemánek Jr. as Claudio.)
"Presenting this play as a group of well-intentioned amateurs producing a radio production to strengthen the resolve and warm the hearts of soldiers on the front and citizens at home allows us to honor Shakespeare and those men and women fighting to have the freedom to enjoy a good old-fashioned play," says the director, noting that the production "also allows us to examine wartime practices of dehumanizing the enemy."
"The main 'villains' of the piece are presented with extreme German accents," says the director. "There is a lot of good-natured fun had at the expense of Germans -- which, while appropriate and historically accurate for the time, has a different resonance now, particularly with recent events in Germany, the Middle East and Brexit in the UK and the recent U.S. presidential election.
"Our main hope, though, is to have audiences think while they laugh and have a great time in the theatre. I am happy to say that no one laughed as much in Prague as the German Ambassador when he saw the production!"
After its 2015 world premiere in Prague, PSC's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING quickly garnered international attention. The company performed MUCH ADO (and its production of MACBETH) in Egypt at the Library of Alexandria as part of the historic library's 2016 Shakespeare Birthday celebration.
About Prague Shakespeare Company
The Prague Shakespeare Company (located in Prague, Czech Republic) presents professional theatre productions, workshops, classes, lectures and other theatrical events of the highest quality, conducted primarily in English by a multinational ensemble of professional theatre artists. With an emphasis on the plays of William Shakespeare, the Prague Shakespeare Company brings to Czech, European and international audiences performances that are fresh, bold, imaginative, thought-provoking, and eminently accessible, connecting the truths of the past with the challenges and possibilities of today. For information on the PSC400 Season, their year-long artistic celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, please visit pragueshakespeare.com.
About Main Street Theater
Main Street Theater provides theater experiences for all ages. Founded in 1975, the MainStage produces intimate, literary plays for adults and operates under an Actors' Equity Association union contract; the professional Theater for Youth produces professional, engaging productions based on children's literature for families and school groups, both in-house and on tour around Texas; and MST offers arts education and integration programs on-site and at satellite locations around the Greater Houston area for youth aged 4 through high school. The theater operates out of two facilities: its Rice Village home on Times Boulevard, and as part of The MATCH (Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston) on Main Street. For more information about Main Street Theater, please visit mainstreettheater.com.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by Prague Shakespeare Company, presented by Main Street Theater. December 31 through January 15. 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. 2540 Times. For more information, call 713-524-6706 or visit mainstreettheater.com. $36 to $45.
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