Author: Ursula Penney, Special
Imagine being able to go back into time. An academic at Queen's University, Constance Ledbelley, falls into her thesis, changes lives, fights off both men and women and answers her own questions of life all the while looking for a fool. The chorus suggests, "For anything is possible, you'll find, within the zone of the unconscious mind."
Sound crazy? Well it is, and it's done tastefully by an entire cast at the Blackhorse Village Players Theatre in their current production of Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet).
When Constance, played by Angie Sapalovski, deciphers a cryptic manuscript and is transported back into Shakespearean time, she must have felt just like Alice in Wonderland. Her dream of meeting Desdemona, played by Jo-Anne Pulfer (Outstanding actress in a Supporting Role Award), and then Juliet, (Ashley Abbott), along with Tybalt (Roderick Cook) and of course Romeo, played by Geordie Derraugh, sometimes has Constance forgetting why she was there in the first place.
Writer Ann-Marie MacDonald, honoured with a number of awards, including the Governor General's Award, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and the Canadian Authors' Association Award, digs deep into the sole of these plays and asks the question "What if?"
Both Othello and Romeo and Juliet, were plays that ended in tragedy, but never should have. If you could have foreknowledge into a chain of events that is about to unfold around you and a desire to expose these errors you can allow these tragedies to become comedies as Constance finds out.
The evening is full of laughter, sword fights, love, a tug-of-war over a turtle, discovery, a head rising out of a basket, a hint of sex and a cross-dresser or two.
The story is difficult to follow at first, but it's clear the cast has put in endless hours of learning the Shakespearean scripts. It is not recommended for children pre-high school years.
Upcoming evening performances of Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) are on Oct. 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10 beginning at 8:15 p.m. with a matinee performance on Sun., Oct. 4, beginning at 2:15 p.m. A final encore fundraising performance will be held on Sat., Oct. 17 at 8:15 p.m. with a portion of the proceeds to be used to support local Girl Guides.
