shall i compare for thee two shakespeares? i shall!

Such a weekend I have had!
For three days running, Barbara and Sandy and I have immersed ourselves in Savannah's cultural offerings! Usually, the first weekend of the month is overloaded with events, but the 4th of July holiday spurred everyone to move their start dates to this second weekend.
Hooray for us!
And Hooray for Barbara, too! That made her Saturday birthday extra festive, as it was bookended by two Shakespeare openings.
Not that Saturday was devoid of fun activities for this trio of gals - oh, no! We had our JAVAFLIX Savannah monthly screening that day! The film du mois was "Hector and the Search for Happiness" and the thirty or so attendees all agreed that this one definitely was a winner. Simon Pegg is always entertaining, but never more so than as this middle-aged psychiatrist who undergoes his own version of an "Eat Pray Love" trek into his own psyche.
But I digress.
I'm here to talk about the Bard's works!

I was the one who suggested the Friday evening viewing of
"A Midsummer Night's Dream",
atop the third floor at Ampersand.
My friends had missed this blip on the local theatre radar,
but my familiarity with the Savannah Stage Company
had me eagerly anticipating this interpretation
of the oft-told tale of romance and comedy.

Ah! My anticipation was well rewarded!
Their stripped-down version,
offered up as theatre-in-the-round,
placed the emphasis firmly on the beauty of the words.
A skeleton crew of only six players
utilized simple wardrobe enhancements
(such as the brambles and rope, in the upper photo,
to transform man into donkey)
and changes in demeanor
to portray almost twenty characters.
The action never lagged, nor could it have done so.
The energy flowing through the players and into the audience was always on, literally and figuratively.
What an experience!
Also, as it was the opening night of the three-weekend run,
we three were invited to the party on the first floor!
Very nice!
What a fine finish to a Friday and a fabulous start of our weekend!

This afternoon, we attended the matinee of "The Taming of the Shrew",
at our beloved Muse Arts Warehouse.
Today's show was the third performance of this inaugural offering from Savannah Shakes, a new theatre troupe.
The group was formed solely to perform works by William Shakespeare.
They have a full slate of treats for us, with the game plan to serve up two plays every year for the next three years.
Their stronghold? Their angle?
Bringing the works out of the middle ages and into a more modern world, one decade per play.
Pretty ambitious!
Based on this performance, not only ambitious,
but possibly expensive.
This version of the romantic comedy is set post-WWII,
in the mid-1940's America,
when roles were changing for women and
war veterans were definitely society's heroes.
With a full cast of characters,
clad in garments befitting the decade,
the set was furnished minimally.
That was very good!
Such a large number of performers,
as well as a lavish set,
could well have been a distraction from the words,
the words which are the star of the show.
We three enjoyed the almost three-hour long rendition,
so color it a successful outing!

Now, we are off to see "Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy
Working With Time" at Sulfur Studios.
How could we resist? The place has 16 artists calling it home.
(Hint: You have to think like a chemist for this inside joke.)
Ciao, y'all!