Let him roar again, let him roar again

Thrice weekly blog post 14 of 15

Please check out my new favorite song of the moment here. Amazing stuff.

I had the chance to attend a performance by The Grassroots Shakespeare Company on Monday evening. It was a triple header, but I was only able to attend the last two plays, and I quickly regretted that I had missed the first.

The aim of the company is to re-create Shakespeare as Shakespeare meant it to be. They work without a director and secure props and costumes on their own. Many actors play multiple parts. When actors aren't on stage, they're providing the music for the scenes. At performances, they encourage the audience to booo and ahhhh and yell if they feel like it. There were several great ad lib moments prompted by the audience, and everyone was really able to get involved with the story.

The acting was stellar. It was amazing to see the actors switch from role to role, bringing something completely different each time. I felt engaged with the plays and really enjoyed the experience.

The first play we saw was a pretty common one - A Midsummer Night's Dream. But unlike other performances of the play, this one had an all-male cast. It added a whole new dimension that was originally in Shakespeare's plays, but we usually miss out as a modern audience. A huge highlight for me was one modern reference they included: a comparison of Puck to Link. Other anachronistic items were great surprises: dream catchers to represent the fairies and an umbrella to represent invisibility (that one had me laughing for a while).

Next was Romeo and Juliet. Whenever I see Romeo and Juliet, I always say that I will never see it again - it's just a story of stupidity, in my opinion. But I really enjoyed what they did with it. The first half had me laughing and the second had me close to tears. It was cathartic to yell at the characters as they made their stupid mistakes. Overall, another great performance.

Unfortunately, the company has finished their touring season for this year, but I would definitely recommend them in the future. Whether you're a fan of Shakespeare or not, you'll enjoy the high-paced energy of The Grassroots Shakespeare Company's shows.