Produced by Straylight Australia
Directed by Greg de Polnay and Roz Riley
Shakespeare created some of the most dynamic female characters the theatre has ever seen: Lady Macbeth, Tamora, Cleopatra, Queen Margaret, Volumnia. It is no coincidence that many of the most powerful among them were mothers, whose rampant protectiveness and vaunting ambition on behalf of their children - as well as their own lusty appetites - set them against powerful enemies and drove them to treachery, war, adultery, murder and madness.
‘Shakespeare’s Mothers: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know’ is set in our risk-averse present. Shakespeare is accused by the media of inciting female violence through his dangerous maternal role-models and subsequently appears as a guest on a TV arts show. Summoning his uneasy, warring mothers about him, he defends himself with wit and humour while they re-live the defining moments of their turbulent lives.
The play enablesShakespeare’s Mothers: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know us to see twenty marvellous women from twelve plays on stage in one go and reveals how cleverly Shakespeare uses fiercely protective and ambitious mothers to drive some of his strongest plots. It also gives the actors a wonderful chance to share their delight in these vital women with the audience, through tantalising glimpses of their dangerous lives.
The cast comprises one actor and two actresses and takes place on a almost-bare stage with a good lighting design and some use of music and sfx. Tech requirements can be scaled-down (or up) as necessary to meet the capabilities of the venue. (See our Tech Specs page for more detail.)
Our two productions to date have run for 45 and 60 minutes, in abridged versions of the full-length script which can be tailored to any running time, between about 30 and 90 minutes.
The cast comprises one actor and two actresses and takes place on a almost-bare stage with a good lighting design and some use of music and sfx. Tech requirements can be scaled-down (or up) as necessary to meet the capabilities of the venue. (See our Tech Specs page for more detail.)
Our two productions to date have run for 45 and 60 minutes, in abridged versions of the full-length script which can be tailored to any running time, between about 30 and 90 minutes.
Audience reaction to the Edinburgh and Adelaide Fringe productions in 2010 and 2011 respectively, was strongly positive and was summed up neatly by reviewer Richard Stamp, editor of Fringe Guru.
Richard wrote, ...it’s a quick-fire introduction to a well-chosen range of Shakespeare plays, mixing the familiar with the more obscure and linked by the interesting theme of all-consuming motherhood... And it’s a credit to the strength of the acting – and the choice of scenes – that I, not the world’s most committed Shakespeare fan, left the theatre hoping I’d soon see these powerful women in their unabridged form.
Richard wrote, ...it’s a quick-fire introduction to a well-chosen range of Shakespeare plays, mixing the familiar with the more obscure and linked by the interesting theme of all-consuming motherhood... And it’s a credit to the strength of the acting – and the choice of scenes – that I, not the world’s most committed Shakespeare fan, left the theatre hoping I’d soon see these powerful women in their unabridged form.
If you'd like to know more about the show, or would like to consider booking it for your venue, festival etc, we'd be delighted to hear from you. Please read The Pitch and/or contact us here.
