20 Years in 20 Weeks - Looking back to Bard in the Botanics 2015
/20 YEARS IN 20 WEEKS
This week’s “Throwback Thursday” takes a look back at 2015 and our “Unlikely Wonders” season.
But before we reach the summer, we were thrilled to receive funding from Creative Scotland to remount and tour our 2013 production of “Romeo and Juliet” in the Spring of 2015. Stephanie McGregor returned to play Juliet for the third time, this time opposite Terence Rae as Romeo. Robert Elkin also returned to the production but this time taking on the role of Mercutio while Adam Donaldson took over Robert’s previous role of Benvolio, with the cast completed by Ewan Petrie as Tybalt. This marked our first ever nationwide tour and it was a real joy to bring our work to communities across Scotland, from Aberdeen to Stranraer, from Musselburgh to the Isle of Mull.
Terence Rae & Stephanie McGregor as the title roles in “Romeo and Juliet”, 2015 (Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
And so we come to 2015’s “Unlikely Wonders” Season. Each of the summer’s four titles featured characters who come up against the unexpected, sometimes joyous, often harsh realities of the world in ways that change them profoundly – these were the “unlikely wonders” which gave the season its title.
The opening production of the season saw promenade performance return to Botanic Gardens for the first time since 2012, as “Love’s Labours Lost” made its professional Bard in the Botanics debut. In the play, the King of Navarre and his cohort of young lords fashion a world for themselves that excludes pleasure, joy and love – only to have their carefully constructed idyll shattered by the arrival of some of Shakespeare’s smartest and wittiest women who teach them about life in ways they never expected. Often dismissed as a lesser comedy because of the formality and density of its language, this modern dress production brought the play to vivid life through deft characterisation, witty performances & fully realised environments. When the play is literally set in a park, what better setting for it than the Botanic Gardens!
The company of “Love’s Labours Lost”, 2015 (Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
The production was led by Stephanie McGregor as the Princess of France and Ben Clifford as the King of Navarre but every character in the 14-strong cast was fully realised by an exceptionally strong acting company, including Kirk Bage’s fantastical Spaniard, Don Adriano de Armado (complete with Salvador Dali moustache); Alan Steele’s pedantic professor, Holofernes (making some of Shakespeare’s most impenetrable language not only understandable but genuinely funny!) and Robert Elkin & Tori Burgess’ cheeky “neds”, Moth & Jaquenetta.
Our second outdoor performance in 2015 was “The Merchant of Venice”. Artistic Director, Gordon Barr, revisited and redeveloped his 2008 concept for the play which saw the action set in 1930’s Europe. In this stark reinvention of the play, the characters found their comfortable lifestyles and easy assumptions challenged and shaken to the core when they discovered that their casual disdain and abuse of the “outsider”, Shylock, had far-reaching consequences. The prejudices, attitudes and buried secrets exposed by the tense trial scene cast a long shadow over the play’s final act. Usually played as a return to romantic comedy, here we saw the characters – especially Nicole Cooper’s Portia – struggle to reconcile their previous attitudes with their new understanding of each other and the world they live in. There were no happy endings here!
Gillian Argo’s stunning set referenced the Brutalist style of mid-20th century architecture while simultaneously evoking the bridges and canals of Venice and Carys Hobbs’ costumes, delivered in shades of grey, artfully created the glamour and decadence of the 1930’s “smart set”. A quartet of stunningly nuanced performances led the action – Kirk Bage’s Shylock, Nicole Cooper’s Portia, James Ronan’s Bassanio & Alan Steele’s Antonio – bringing out all the subtleties of these contradictory characters. Meanwhile the authentic 1930’s Berlin cabaret songs, delivered by Stephen Redwood & Chloe-Ann Taylor’s Salerio & Solanio, provided a cynical commentary on the venal attitudes & dark undertones of a society poised to tip into Fascism.
The final act of “The Merchant of Venice”, 2015 (Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
The Kibble Palace in 2015 played host to Jennifer Dick’s new adaptation of “Richard II”, another title making its Bard in the Botanics debut. This emotionally charged production saw the King – God’s anointed vessel on Earth, or so he firmly believed – come face to face with his own weakness & humanity as he found his authority challenged and his kingdom & closest relationships in peril. Taking her cue from hints found in the original text, Jennifer flushed out the relationship between Richard (Robert Elkin) and the Duke of York’s son, Aumerle (Adam Donaldson), to create a fully-fledged central relationship that delivered a heartbreaking human dimension to Richard’s fall from grace. And as our tradition for cross-gendering major roles gathered pace, Richard’s nemesis became the Lady Bolingbroke, played powerfully by EmmaClaire Brightlyn.
Robert Elkin’s central performance as the doomed King Richard was a revelation. Mercurial, passionate, selfish, decadent but always very, very human, the audience might not always have loved Richard (Shakespeare doesn’t mean us to) but in Robert’s performance, they could not fail to understand and empathise with his personal tragedy as his own actions lost him everything he held dear. Very few audience members reached the end of the performance without shedding more than a few tears!
Robert Elkin as the title role in “Richard II”, 2015 (Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
The final production of our summer season saw the continuation of our Emerging Artists Directors Scheme, as Emily Reutlinger gave that perennial summer favourite, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, a makeover to bring its harsh treatment of women – particularly Hermia – into sharp focus and explore the freedom that dreams can provide for those facing a stark future. A very talented cast, led by Meghan Tyler as Hermia & Bottom, provided plenty of laughs and a little bit of food for thought in a highly energised, ultimately celebratory production.
At Christmas, the company returned to the Byre Theatre in St Andrews for our third panto – “Cinderella”. This new version of the classic tale by Artistic Director, Gordon Barr, was heavily influenced by “Strictly Come Dancing” and saw famous star, Prince Colquhoun, searching for his new dance partner. But perhaps, more significantly, it was a version of the story which finally saw loyal friend, Buttons, rewarded for his devotion to Cinderella as she realised that it was him, and not the Prince, who was her true love!
Alan Steele as Windolene, Robert Elkin as Harpic & Donna Hazelton as Mme. Diabolique in “Cinderella”, 2015
A year of smart, powerful, funny & touching productions saw Bard in the Botanics finish 2015 on a high as we headed towards our 15th anniversary year.
FUN FACTS:
- Adam Donaldson’s return to the company for the tour of “Romeo and Juliet” to play opposite Robert Elkin as best friends Benvolio & Mercutio marked his first appearance with us since 2011’s Hamlet – where the two actors had again played a double act (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern). They would be cast opposite each other again later in 2015 as lovers, Richard & Aumerle in “Richard II” and most recently have appeared as the dastardly double act of Richard Gloucester & Buckingham in 2019’s “Richard III”. What can we say – they just make a really good pair!
- The tour of “Romeo and Juliet” was supported by a range of backstage interview and videos exploring the creative process, all filmed by Associate Artist, Tom Duncan, as he continued his move away from our stages and behind the camera! These fascinating insights into the production can all be seen on our “Romeo and Juliet” YouTube playlist at Romeo & Juliet Videos - YouTube
- So last week we introduced the concept of “invisible” characters in Shakespeare. Well, in 2015’s “Richard II”, the cast went so far as to create a whole new character. Richard’s line “Mark, silent queen” steadily evolved into imagining an unspeaking, camp figure who would lurk in the background of scenes, silently judging the characters. Not that the character actually ever appeared in “Richard II” but Mark, the Silent Queen has become a firm fixture at Bard in the Botanics – never seen but always there, always judging! (What? Producing Shakespeare’s a very serious business!)
- “Love’s Labours Lost” & “Richard II” both made their Bard in the Botanics debuts in 2015, bringing us 2 steps closer to the goal of staging all of Shakespeare’s works. To date, there are only 8 titles which have never been seen at Bard in the Botanics – All’s Well That Ends Well; Cymbeline; Henry VIII; King John; The Merry Wives of Windsor; Troilus & Cressida; The Two Gentlemen of Verona & The Two Noble Kinsmen – but we have plans for many of those!
- “Love’s Labours Lost” featured one of the most extensive sets ever to appear at Bard in the Botanics. The story played out across 5 different locations in the Botanic Gardens and each was meticulously dressed to support the action – from a full campsite for the Princess of France and her ladies (complete with tent and washing lines of “intimate apparel”!) to a fully set outdoor banqueting table – and even a (fake!) dead dear, christened “Tina the Pricket” by the cast!
- We love a random prop at Bard in the Botanics and the 2metre long snake wielded by Jaquenetta in Love’s Labours Lost’s play-within-a-play, “The Pageant of the Nine Worthies” is definitely one of the stranger objects to grace our stages!
- Our own fairytale couple, Lynne Jenkinson & Tom Duncan, met on “Snow White” in 2012 and were married just two weeks before starting rehearsals for 2015’s panto, where they would play Cinderella & Buttons, respectively.
2015 COMPANY:
The “Unlikely Wonders” Season
Gillian Argo (Set Design – Merchant of Venice; Designer – Richard II); Kirk Bage (Don Armado / Shylock); Gordon Barr (Artistic Director); EmmaClaire Brightlyn (Bolingbroke); Iona Buchanan (Peaseblossom); Tori Burgess (Jaquenetta); Ben Clifford (King of Navarre / Gratiano); Nicole Cooper (Rosaline / Portia); Jennifer Dick (Boyet; Director – Richard II); Martin Donaghy (Theseus & Puck); Adam Donaldson (Aumerle & Mowbray); Fergus Dunnet (Design Associate – Dream); Robert Elkin (Moth / Richard II); Robert Ginty (Lorenzo); Suzie Goldberg (DSM); Carys Hobbs (Costume Design – Love’s Labour Lost & Merchant of Venice); Francesca Isherwood (Maria); Lynne Jenkinson (Choreography – Love’s Labours Lost); Sophie Kisilevsky (Katharine); Gabrielle Kitson (Mustardseed); Dan Klarer (Dull); Andrew McGregor (Music arrangements – Dream); Stephanie McGregor (Princess of France / Jessica); Finlay McLean (John of Gaunt & York); Christopher McLeish (Cobweb); Sam Ramsay (Production Manager); David Rankine (Lysander & Quince); Stephen Redwood (Launcelot Gobbo & Salerio); Emily Reutlinger (Director – Dream); James Ronan (Berowne / Bassanio & Morocco & Aragon); Lloyd Ryan-Thomas (Longaville); Alan Steele (Holofernes / Antonio); Chloe-Ann Taylor (Nerissa & Solanio); Joanne Thomson (Helena & Titania); Meghan Tyler (Hermia & Bottom); Cameron Varner (Dumaine); Josh Whitelaw (Demetrius & Oberon)
“Romeo & Juliet” Touring Company: Adam Donaldson (Benvolio & Capulet); Gordon Barr (Director); Tom Duncan (Video & Digital Content); Robert Elkin (Mercutio & Friar Laurence); Robbie Fraser (Production Manager & Relighting); Suzie Goldberg (DSM); Carys Hobbs (Designer); Stephanie McGregor (Juliet & Lady Montague); Ewan Petrie (Tybalt & Nurse); Terence Rae (Romeo & Prince), Marc Silberschatz (Fight Director)
“Cinderella” Company: Stephen Arden (Prince Colquhoun; Choreographer); Gillian Argo (Set Design); Gordon Barr (Writer & Director); Gary Cameron (Musical Director); Tom Duncan (Buttons); Robert Elkin (Harpic – Ugly Sister); Ashley Foster (Young Cast Liaison); Donna Hazelton (Mme. Diabolique); Carys Hobbs (Costume Design); Kylie Langford (Deputy Wardrobe Supervisor); Alan Steele (Windolene – Ugly Sister); Sam Ramsay (Stage Manager); Matt Wilson (Lighting Design)
