Imogen & The Taming of Hamlet

Brown/Trinity MFA Shakespear Performances

Advance Tickets: $15 General Admission; $10 JAC Members, Seniors, and Students
Tickets at Door:  $18 General Admission; $13 JAC Members, Seniors, and Students

The Taming of Hamlet performs Saturday, April 29, 2023

7—8:30 pm

Imogen performs Sunday, April 30, 2023

7—8:30 pm

The Taming of Hamlet

Director: Andrew Watring

Director’s Note:

A melding of the oft deleted Induction from Taming of the Shrew and the text of Hamlet as clowning, this adaptation focuses on exploding the hazy line between comedy and tragedy, between dreams and reality, and between “madness”  and “sanity.” We find ourselves dropped into the story of Christopher Sly, a drunken braggart, and the Leading Player and his traveling troupe of trunk-based, mischievous actors. As a bit of a game and a bit of a challenge, the troupe plots to prop Christopher Sly up as a Lord and perform for him “a kind of history.” What follows is a mind-melding psychological break-down of the playing space, the performances, and the Leading Player’s psyche. Drawing inspiration from dark comedies like American Psycho and Funny Games, this Hamlet seeks to play, to unnerve, and to achieve a world shift for the ages.

Cast:

Katsuto Sakogashira Christopher Sly / Polonius / Laertes 

Austyn Williamson  Leading Player / Hamlet 

Sara States Bawdy Player / Gertrude / Hostess / Marcellus 

Allison Jones  Maverick Player / Claudius / Hamlet Sr. / First Clown / Messenger

Tay Bass Lover Player / Ophelia / Horatio

Imogen

Director: Sharifa Yasmin

Director’s Note:

Labeled as a comedy, a romance, and a tragedy, Shakespeare’s Cymbeline has one of the most complex plots the bard ever wrote. What holds it all together, and the heart of play, is the story of Imogen; a brilliant, resilient, and deeply compassionate princess. Known as one of Shakespeare’s “perfect women”, she is often at the mercy of the men around her, her fate remaining in their desires. This adaptation seeks to solely explore Imogen’s arc within Cymbeline, challenging how her destiny is decided and who gets to make that decision. Imogen is an epic journey of good and evil, love and loss, and a young princess’s transformation into the woman she’s forbidden to be.

Cast: 

Rosalyn Tavarez Imogen

Layan Elwazani Pisania / Lady Helen

Nicholas Byers Posthumus / Lord Aaron

Germainne Lebrón Iachimo / Lord Malcolm

David Bertoldi Cloten / King Cymbeline