Field Trip: The Witches

As part of Playlab NYC’s desire for community outreach and to support our local theater companies, we venture out from time to time for a Field Trip.

Last weekend I went to see The Red Door Theatre Company’s production of Roald Dahl’s The Witches at Socrates Sculpture Park. Adapted from Dahl’s 1983 children’s book by David Wood The Witches is the story of a boy and his Grandmother, who defeat a coven of witches in a seaside hotel.

Geared toward children, I found Artistic Director Kate Erin Gibson’s direction charming. The little boy played by Natasha Warner, was also a cutie pie. She was even better after being turned into a mouse by the Grand High Witch. Bruno Jenkins, played by Christopher Johnston was also terrific. He has whining down and his mannerisms were as good as if he was my own two-year-old when he gets a little tenacious.

There happened to be a family from England at the park to see the play. The little boy in the audience was so excited because he already knew the story, and this allowed the cast of witches to tease and play with him. Because of the nature of outdoor performances and Socrates Park, the actors played all out. Any wind, helicopters, or cars that go by overtake the actors’ voices in a second. This background noise really just encouraged the actors to play louder, and that kept the audience engaged.

The main complaint I have about the production is David Wood’s writing. There was a moment when I thought the actors had looped through to the beginning of the play by accident. This was only ten minutes or so into the play! Instead of actually watching the action, I scanned the audience for the director to see if the cast had lost their place. No, she watched along with the audience. So I glanced up to see that they're still repeating the action from before - and in a second they continued on with the play. This happened every ten minutes or so throughout the whole play - the cast recapping what had just occurred. It was confusing and irritating.

Other than that, I had a wonderful time. I wish I could have taken my little one, I believe he would have enjoyed the show.

All the Blessings of a Glad Father

I have been asked on more than one occasion over the last three months, “Why The Tempest?”

The first impulse, and the most superficial, came while directing Macbeth for Socrates Sculpture Park’s Halloween Harvest Festival. If you have ever been out to Socrates, you are no doubt aware of the unique design of their cobblestone stage. As wonderful as that performance space was in the role of Macbeth’s the blasted heath, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it would be even better standing in for Prospero’s not so deserted island.

Beyond that impulse, the compelling reason to produce The Tempest for me is Prospero’s relationship with his daughter. It is because of his tenderness and care with Miranda that Playlab NYC celebrates Father’s Day with The Tempest.

Shakespeare’s plays are filled with fathers. In Linda E. Boose’s article “The Father and the Bride in Shakespeare,” she points out that fathers and sons appear in the action of twenty-three of the plays in the canon, and fathers and daughters in twenty-one. Unfortunately few of Will’s patriarchs are deserving of neckties or homemade ashtrays. Oh sure, we hear wonderful things said about King Hamlet, but none of the dead king’s actions on stage amount to much more than, “Me, me, me.” No one wants to be a stepchild in the household of Titus Andronicus. And the less said about Lear’s parenting skills the better.

But in The Tempest, we have a father who genuinely cares for his child’s well-being. Prospero has his faults of course, which parent among us doesn’t. Like Shakespeare’s famous magician, I’m not always very patient with my two-year-old, and I worry that my son isn’t listening to me as closely as he should. Between you and me, I too look forward to my child’s nap time so that I can plot revenge with my imaginary friends. As a father though, I would certainly use all the power at my command to see to my son’s education and happiness.

Prospero’s character lapses never get in the way of his relationship to his daughter. He tells Miranda early in the play, “I have done nothing but in care of thee.” As an audience we never are given reason to doubt him. Prospero is the most successful parent of all of Shakespeare’s fathers. I hope that you will come out and join our celebration of dads this Father’s Day weekend.