What I liked
.
What I didn't like
.
My overall impression
I was excited to see this show, to see how they had made this particular Shakespearean play appropriate for a Middle School audience. To start with, I want to say that all of the actors did a commendable job, and there were several clever bits of business. I want to say that because nothing else I have to say is positive, and it should be known that that has nothing to do with their performances. Had I been paying closer attention before I decided to see this show, I would have noticed that the play is recommended for ages 16+. Last I checked, the only way a middle school student would be 16+ is if they were held back several years. By the very young countenances of the entirety of the cast, except one, I’m going to wager that they were all under the age of 16, and therefore, by the productions own recommendations for the show, partaking in inappropriate material.
Inappropriate was my biggest take away from this production, because not only did playwright and director Troy Heard do nothing to address the rape, maiming and murder – other than hold up a sign that said, or verbally say ‘Trigger Warning’ – he actually made the play even more inappropriate for the age of the cast by adding on an additional plot: the student’s teacher, Mr. Benjamin, is having a mental break-down because his wife left him.
START OF SPOILERS
This mental break down includes suggesting that his wife has slept with the entire audience, swearing openly, drinking an entire bottle of Jack, threating his wife over the phone that he will kill her, and then in a separate phone conversation with his wife revealing that she has found inappropriate pictures on his home computer and has called the cops. The majority of all of this is done with students on the stage. I found myself uncomfortable for every child up there, especially after the pictures/cops revelation because my brain jumped straight to thinking that he had inappropriate photos of children. This combined with the fact that Mr. Benjamin takes over the role of Titus and the original child actor is revealed at the end tied up and bloodied, was too much for me.
END OF SPOILERS
I am thankful that I hadn’t invited my friend and her two kids to join me for the production. I am fully aware that my opinion may be in the minority, as there were plenty of people in the audience laughing quite merrily throughout the production, and obviously the parents of these children find the material appropriate enough to allow their children to participate. That is their call, not mine, and I pass no judgement because I don’t know what kinds of conversations they had with their children to prepare them for the material. All I know, is that as an audience member, I definitely could have done without the un-comfortability and unanticipated feeling of ‘ick’ that I left the theater with. #SkipItLA
