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| Shagspeare (Max Tachis, left) reacts to Sir Robert Cecil (Brad Satterwhite). |
Sometimes
lying is morally better than telling the truth.
That’s one
premise of Bill Cain’s “Equivocation,” presented by Dragon Theatre in Redwood
City.
This premise
is postulated by a Jesuit priest, Father Henry Garnet. He’s accused of being in
on the Gunpowder Plot, a 1605 conspiracy by several Catholics to amass about 36
barrels of gunpowder under Parliament and to set it off when King James I and
others are there.
They hope
to take over England, where the king has criminalized Catholicism, but the plot
was foiled.
Cain
fictionalizes this historical event by making it about a play that Shakespeare
didn’t write.
One of the
king’s devious men, Sir Robert Cecil (Brad Satterwhite), commissions playwright
William Shagspeare, or Shag (Max Tachis), to write a play about the conspiracy.
Shag and
his actor colleagues take the advance money, but they think Cecil’s outline is unworkable
because it’s pure fiction.
Nevertheless,
Shag questions several conspirators and gains some unexpected insights,
especially from Father Garnet (Paul Stout).
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| Judith (Alika U. Spencer-Koknar) picks up after her father, William Shagspeare (Max Tachis). |
These
insights allow him to come to terms with his grief over his son’s death and to
make amends to his neglected daughter, Judith (Alika U. Spencer-Koknar).
Tachis and
Spencer-Koknar are the only actors who play just one character.
The others --
Satterwhite, Stout, Paul Rosenfield and Michael Welland –- play all of the
other characters, easily making speedy transitions.
Shakespeare
buffs will enjoy references to his plays as well as scenes from “King Lear” and
“Macbeth.”
Although
Shag couldn’t write a play about the Gunpowder Plot, he and his colleagues
stage the Scottish play (“Macbeth), correctly reasoning that it would please King
James I (Rosenfield), who was Scottish.
Director
Jenny Hollingworth allows some unnecessary yelling, especially by Rosenfield as
Thomas Wintour in the “King Lear” scene, but he’s better as the king.
Except for
the yelling, the actors, especially Tachis and Satterwhite, do a good job with
this intricate play.
The simple
set is by Seafus R. Chatmon-Smith, with lighting by Sean Kramer, costumes by
Kathleen Qiu and sound by Jonathan Covey.
Running
about two hours and 40 minutes with one intermission, “Equivocation” will
continue through Aug. 19 at Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway St., Redwood City.
Photos by Dragon Theatre
