Measure for Measure Feb 2010

Measure for Measure

by William Shakepeare

A Bard in the Yard production as part of Fringe 2010

Directed by John Marwick

Muritai School Yard, Eastbourne

16 – 20 February 2010 7.30 pm

John Smythe Theatreview Review

Corruption, Comedy and Confusion in Full Measure

Do you enjoy a good laugh? Like to see theatre that makes you think, that’s full of tension and surprise? Fancy a night out where after a good meal you can sit back with a glass of wine and be entertained under the stars by a troupe of talented actors?

This summer you can catch a show that gives you all that – and lots more. It’s all in a play written by the world’s greatest playwright. But chances are you have never seen it before.

Eastbourne’s Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe has been making a name for itself over the last 14 years with successful staging of some of Shakespeare’s less familiar plays. This summer the Troupe’s outdoor Bard in the Yard production is Measure for Measure.

Royalty mixes with religion and harsh laws struggle against loose morals in old Vienna. The Duke announces he is leaving and puts his strict deputy, Angelo, in charge to clean up the city. Using an old law, Angelo condemns young Claudio to death for getting his fiancée pregnant. Claudio’s sister Isabella, just about to become a nun, pleads with Angelo to show her brother mercy. But Isabella faces a religious and moral dilemma when Angelo offers Claudio’s life in exchange for her virginity. How the disguised Duke contrives to trick and then confront an increasingly corrupt Angelo is the central story of the play. But Shakespeare also populates his city with wonderfully eccentric and funny characters and seasons the bleak and serious side of the story with comedy and love.

In his eleventh Eastbourne Shakespeare, director John Marwick has pulled together a large and experienced cast of actors from across the region for a night to remember. Music, costumes and sets will transport you from Muritai School’s specially built outdoor stage to Toulouse Lautrec’s art nouveau world of the Moulin Rouge. There you will mingle with whores, pimps, princes, friars and a collection of some of the Bard’s most fantastic characters.

Why not make a night of it? Take the ferry from town, have a pre-show picnic on the beach, a meal in Day’s Bay or at the Eastbourne pub, then get a glass of wine at the venue’s bar and sit back to enjoy the night.

Just in case Wellington’s summer doesn’t quite provide the balmy evening you should dress warmly. But don’t worry about the rain because when the weather doesn’t come to the party the show just moves onto the floor of the adjoining school hall.

So – what are you waiting for? Book your tickets online now.