Stage Write

  From the moment Matt Anderson takes the stage, his seething and scheming Richard III demands your full attention. It's a role that would be easy to over act, but instead Anderson's portrayal is raw and visceral. He has frequently popped up in supporting roles over the years, but this play gives him a chance to stretch his wings and show what he can do. He is mesmerizing as the simpering villain. Under Glenn Dobbs’ direction, some of the simplest moments are the most powerful. There's a scene where the two ill-fated nephews grasp hands, and that simple gesture conveys so much emotion.   The set is simple, consisting of only a few chairs or benches. The audience surrounds the stage on three sides and the cast makes the most of the intimate space.   Christina Howard’s plays both Lady Anne and Lord Grey, but it’s her performance as the grieving widow that is particularly powerful. She and Allison Clark Reddick (playing Queen Elizabeth) are both beautiful studies o...

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Yet centuries later the themes of his plays prove timeless and relevant. Hamlet, a First Folio production currently being staged at Ben Davis, tells the familiar tale of a young man consumed by grief and revenge. The plot of Hamlet, like so many of Shakespeare's other works, could've been written today .  This production has been edited down to a brisk 2 hours. Extended scenes with the players and characters like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern end up on the cutting room floor, but the show flows beautifully. A few rearranged scenes and the audience is thrown into the action quickly and left hanging when the intermission comes. Glenn Dobbs direction keeps things moving smoothly.   The whole show feels more action packed than other more reflective stagings. The final swordfight, choreographed by Scott Russell, is one of the best I’ve seen. Each fighter has a sword and dagger and they duel with convincing s...

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”   So imagine you’re an actor and a director approaches you with a proposition. “How would you like to play a dozen different roles, male and female, young and old, in eight different shows? By the way, you’ll be performing these shows on the same day.” You’d question their sanity, right? Thankfully eight Indiana performers decided to embrace the challenge instead of calling the men in the white coats. The fact that this idea, born more than a year ago, became a reality is incredible.    The eight plays, listed below, have each been condensed into a single hour, a huge feat accomplished by Maria Souza. The result is a whirlwind of action; the fat is trimmed away and audience members are left with the core of each plot in a relatively easy to follow format. Catherine Cardwell, Polly Heinkel, and Thomas Cardwell each tackle the direction of a couple shows. Their styles work well together and there’s no drastic shift betw...

  In a city that rarely sees a production of Shakespeare without an easily recognizable name, the EclecticPond Theatre Company (ETC) has become a welcome respite. The group, which was founded in 2010, has embraced some of the Bard’s lesser-known works, with productions like “The Comedy of Errors” and “Shakespeare Wrote What? and “10x10.” Now, about to close its third season, ETC decided to tackle something big.   Their latest endeavor is the most ambitious to date, “The War of the Roses” covers eight of Shakespeare’s histories using on eight actors. The shows will be spaced over the course of four weekends with different batches shown on different days. Audience members will have the opportunity to see the shows all in one day, two at a time or four at a time. This unique experience, which has been in the works for more than a year, begins in June. The cast and crew are excited to see how this new challenge unfolds. There are three directors sharing the responsibilit...