Cornwall Standard-Freeholder
By Rachel Faber
Shakespeare-in-the-Park turned into Shakespeare-in-the-complex Friday night, after rain forced the show indoors.
The Repercussion Theatre company, who last performed in Cornwall 11 years ago, returned to put on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, a comedy about love and deceit.
“We’ve been talking with Cornwall for the past couple years, and this was the year they were able to make it happen. Hopefully it will just be the beginning of a future together,” said artistic director Amanda Kellock.
On only its second stop of the 29-show tour, the 18-person team was all ready to perform in Lamoureux Park, before a massive downpour Friday afternoon.
“It was a little bit rock-and-roll to be thrown such a curveball on day two, but the crew was really fantastic. They managed to get everything done with two hours less than they usually have for setup,” said Kellock about the change of plans.
Kellock and her team put their own twist on the show, beginning the play with soldiers coming home at the end of a wartime. The set and costumes were bursting with colours and florals, as it’s intended to be set in a garden in Italy.
“That was a really interesting juxtaposition … They’ve come from a conflict zone and now they’re suddenly in this space and air and beautiful flowers,” she said.
“This is very much what it would be like except instead of bleachers there would be trees,” Kellock laughed.
The cast and crew were thrown for a bit of a loop, but made the best of the evening.
“I think being inside today was jarring … just getting the hang of doing the show, but I think it went really well especially considering we’re in an arena,” said Cara Krisman, who played the character Ursula in the show.
Around 100 people showed up to the event, bringing lawn chairs to sit on the arena floor in front of the stage.
“I wish there would have been more people, but of course when it’s inside it’s less exciting for people to come out. But the people who were here definitely seemed to enjoy it, so to me, that’s the most important thing,” said Kellock.
Anurag Choudhury, who played Borachio and the Friar in the production, now lives in Montreal but is originally from Oman, felt a warm welcome from the audience.
“The audiences are always so nice. I love Canada, I love Ontario — I think it’s these small towns that make Ontario so sweet,” he said.
The tour runs until Aug. 15.
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