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Will and his women “ back in the world care of That Theatre
af Louise Nabe
Shakespeare's Women
That Theatre
Krudttønden
20. februar - 23. marts 2013

Either you’ve got it. Or you don’t.
That Theatre’s got it: A grasp of Shakespeare. Powered by what can only be a deepfelt love of the Bard’s works, a ”can’t help it” need to continously explore his world and a wish to present the good people of Denmark with still new aspects of his works – in their masters own voice. Add these things together, and you have another play from That Theatre small in production, but large on entertainment value.
 
The setting is this: A hotel room in the middle of a bustling London 1613. Only recently Shakespeare’s theatre The Globe burned to the ground and now the aging playwrite has come back to write one last play. A play to reopen his theatre and end his career with a flourish. But the aging poet is feeling his years and his feeble health, and inspiration is hard to come by. Yet, assisted by his ancient nurse, Shakespeare struggles through the night and, stumbling upon the heroines of his earlier plays, he pieces together the outlines of his last heroine.
 
Less is more
In Shakespeare’s Women That Theatre, in collaboration with director Barry McKenna, has once again settled for the ”less is more” approach to theatre: One simple setting and a cast of only three actors. Of these the two ladies (Christiane Bjørg-Nielsen and Linda Elvira) take on a variety of different roles and personalities, while Ian Burns settles into his Shakespeare with an ease and comfort that flows evenly from the stage.
 
The energy between the three creates an easy atmosphere, which allows for both mirth and gravity as master Shakespeare is visited by the feisty, tragic, romantic, scary and endearing women of his creation in the struggle with his theatrical swan song. Especially Linda Elvira showed a versatility and ability to fathom both light and dark, which was a joy to behold. So please, good theatre folk, let us see more of her.
 
Speak the speech
One of the most enjoyable things about both this play and That Theatre’s activities in general is, of course, that everything is spoken in English. A trait which is especially noteworthy when Shakespeare is the object of their attention. It is not often that Shakespeare is heard in his own tongue on the Danish stage, and no matter how good the Danish translations are, there is just nothing quite like the real thing.
 
This should be reason enough to allow oneself a visit to Krudttønden. Add to this that the play has been written by Ian Burns and Barry McKenna with great wit and an obvious insight into the full scope of Shakespeare’s world and with a wish to prove Shakespeare’s insight into life and people across time and space, there really are no excuses left. So off, gentle people, get yourselves to That Theatre.


Sarah Coghill