By Aloïs Wood (they/them), Year 1, English Literature BA
Come along to see the York St John Shakespeare Society presents a set of pop-up scenes from Much Ado About Nothing in the Creative Centre on the YSJ campus on 3rd May! This performance will take place throughout the day at the ESRA Symposium on Shakespeare and Our Histories, punctuating talks by keynote speaker Darren Freebury Jones, of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and a range of panellists who will be discussing the work of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Drop by for brassy, touching and comedic acts! You are even invited to bring a packed lunch and stay for the wedding of Hero and Claudio… What could possibly go wrong?!
This article is coming to you from a member of the student production team, with a full guarantee of our passion and dedication to project. The Shakespeare Society here at YSJ is only in its founding year – and the Much Ado production has been in development since last October. This has been the society’s first time working together as a team of actors and creative management, and we’ve managed to always come out of rehearsal sessions feeling very accomplished!
Our superb actors, and the society as a whole, has handled Shakespeare with high creative zeal. Much Ado has been reframed into an early 2000s ‘battle of the bands’ movie set, a la Pitch Perfect or Scott Pilgrim Versus the World. Beatrice and Benedick play members of rival bands, with the cast playing managers, fans, and roadies. Each character belongs uniquely to their actor, with much innovation abundant in their choice of stage acting when not speaking. Meanwhile, the work in direction and management have implemented ideas to have scenes work together and organise scripts and structuring. We have taken full liberty of the original work in abridging the script and playing with our interpretations in costumes, props, and staging. Dogberry and Verges will, of course, be providing security at the event.
In between these pop-up scenes, panellists will speak briefly on the ways Shakespeare intersects with our histories, personal and collective, with topics ranging from the early modern Dutch playwright Vondel, to translating sonnet 18 into the Azary language, to how the bard travelled to China. Most excitingly, in a double-bill panel on Much Ado About Nothing, yours truly shall take to the stage to discuss with more reflection and technicality the society’s approach and experience in working with older texts in the modern day (3.45 – 4.15 pm!). I am honoured to be sitting alongside Julie Raby, retired principal lecturer at YSJ, whose research focusses on Shakespeare in contemporary performance.
Come by and see us, to see how student produce and enjoy Shakespeare at York St. John! No payment required but please do book your slot here.
Check out the York International Shakespeare Festival programme here. There are many concessionary tickets available at YSJ, plus free events, and Theatre@41 have a student rush concession scheme for any unsold tickets just before their performances begin.
