'Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play' Arriving At Notre Dame
Posted
Staff Report-
NOTRE DAME – The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, in association with Shakespeare Napa Valley, announced the arrival of visiting artists Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor and their latest laugh-out-loud comedy, “William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play” (abridged). From Aug. 4 to 30, fast-paced hijinks ensue as three gifted comedians discover what appears to be Shakespeare’s first manuscript, a masterwork containing familiar characters and all the Bard’s best dramatic devices, according to a press release from Notre Dame. The actors throw themselves into a fast, funny and frenzied festival of physical finesse, witty wordplay and plentiful (pitiful) punning as they “speed through the talky bits” and play out this “first-draft version of Shakespeare.” Peppered with both parodies of the playwright’s greatest moments and pop-culture references, this “long-lost” play proves perfect for Shakespeare geeks and newcomers alike, the release states. See it at Notre Dame before the world premier at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Martin and Tichenor’s abridgments have been performed on five continents, at the White House, the Kennedy Center, and as part of China’s Wuzhen International Theater Festival. Stars of the PBS version of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare” (abridged), the comic duo also has appeared on NBC’s “Today,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Entertainment Tonight,” CNN’s “Showbiz This Week” and NPR. The production will be at Philbin Studio Theatre, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, Aug. 4 to 30, with tickets $10 to $30 general admission. If playing a part in the comedy is more your style, Notre Dame welcomes you to join Martin and Tichenor for a 90-minute masterclass in improvisational comedy technique Saturday at 11 a.m. It will be held in Philbin Studio Theatre, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, with general admission tickets $10. Visit http://shakespeare.nd.edu/tickets/ for more information including show times and ticket prices. To learn more about the 2015 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, including the Young Company production of “Love’s Labor’s Lost” and the Professional Company production of “The Winter’s Tale,” visit shakespeare.nd.edu
