Play Review: ‘Shakespeare In Love’ at the Walterdale

A William Shakespeare play probably wouldn’t be your first choice unless you’re a Shakespeare nerd. But Shakespeare In Love, directed by Anne Marie Szucs, offers a lot of Shakespeare without the weird English and a refreshing story. Rest assured, it still has the men in tights and some sword fighting.

Shakespeare In Love follows Shakespeare himself (Matt Boisvert) as he experiences writer’s block while he has multiple people demanding a new play from him. But after he sees Viola de Lesseps (Ren Elliott) for the first time, he’s inspired. With the help of his friend Kit Marlowe (Connor Bewick), Shakespeare begins to write what will become Romeo and Juliet. All the while, Shakespeare’s own life mirrors a Romeo and Juliet style love affair with de Lesseps, though with less death involved.

While the play Shakespeare In Love mirrors and revolves around is a tragedy, there was no lack of comedy. The ridiculousness of Shakespeare’s fictionalized life kept the audience hooked and laughing throughout the whole play. There wasn’t a scene that didn’t have the audience laughing at something. Whether because of quips the characters made or the bizarre circumstances they found themselves in.

Shakespeare In Love had a large cast of 24 actors, many of which took on multiple roles. This was by far the largest cast I’ve seen at a show at the Walterdale Theatre. But somehow, it managed to not overwhelm the audience with too many characters to keep up with. Rather, each character built on the story and fed into the ridiculous dynamics.

The cast didn’t just act either — they danced and even had a sword fight. It was all executed masterfully and took the audience right back to 1593 London, England. 

All the actors did a great job, but a highlight was definitely Angila Redding who played de Lesseps’ nurse. Though her role mirrored Juliet’s nurse in Romeo and Juliet, it was far funnier. She stood out in every scene she was in and made drawing a laugh from the audience look effortless.

Another highlight was the dog and their handler that appeared in a few scenes throughout the play. The dog was very well behaved and beyond adorable. Though their role was small — only popping up as part of a bit that the Queen really wanted a dog to be in the play — their stage presence couldn’t be beat.

Walterdale not only took the complexity up a notch with the number of cast members, but with the set as well. The pillars and smaller stages on the stage were elegant and set the right tone. But the most impressive part was the balcony on the centre stage that rotated to serve as a bed as well. Both the balcony and the bed were used well throughout the play to take the audience to a new scene.

Shakespeare In Love offers a fun — though very fictionalized — glimpse into the writing of Romeo and Juliet all while being a retelling of the famous play in its own right. More than anything, it was hilarious and so well executed. 

I’d highly recommend putting aside any reservations you may have about Shakespeare plays and go see Shakespeare In Love. It might just make you a little fonder of Shakespeare.

Shakespeare In Love is on at the Walterdale Theatre until July 13.