(December 1; Winnipeg, Manitoba) — Inspired by the spirit of the holidays, SIR’s digital production of the award-winning show Shakespeare’s Will will be available a little longer for online viewing!
Audiences will now have until Sunday, December 12th, to watch this beautiful, funny and incredibly poetic meditation on Love, Loss and solo parenting, written by one of Canada’s most celebrated playwrights, Winnipeg-born Vern Thiessen.
Artistic Director, Rodrigo Beilfuss, says, “This is a very special project that has been made possible through the remarkable Canada Council for the Arts ‘Digital Now’ initiative. Their support means we can celebrate what is at the very heart of digital theatre: accessibility. Folks can watch this gorgeous screen version of the play from the comfort of their homes; and what’s more: they have the option to watch it with subtitles in different languages! We are so happy to have commissioned six translations of this moving script, expanding the international reach of Canadian theatre. Plus, Debbie Patterson’s work is the stuff of dreams. You’ll be mesmerized by the intimacy and the magnetism of her performance. And now you have more time to catch this great work of art!”
Patterson plays Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife. Anne is mourning her husband, avoiding reading his will and, instead, she unpacks their whole relationship before our eyes – from the day they met to the day he died, revealing cheeky secrets and passions.
This production makes imaginative use of a style of storytelling called ‘object theatre’, as multiple characters are ‘played’ by rocks and sticks as if they were lively puppets, all skillfully manipulated by Patterson; and a large sand box (from where the characters emerge) serves as the inventive design centre-piece. You have never seen theatre quite like this before; and you will never think of Shakespeare quite in the same away.
“Thiessen takes the sketchy outline of Hathaway’s life out from under her husband’s formidable shadow and creates a gem of a play that’s part fact, part fiction, and pure theatre.” — Quill & Quire
In further celebration of accessibility, tickets are PAY WHAT YOU CAN: $1or $5 or $10 dollars + service charges.
Please visit shakespeareintheruins.com or call 204.891.9160 for more information.
