The Beard of Avon/Twelfth Night

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Twelfth Night & The Beard of Avon
……………………………………Behind the Scenes of The Beard of Avon and Twelfth Night

The Beard of Avon
By Amy Freed; Directed by Chris Coleman
January 15 – March 9, 2008 Extended one more week! Must end March 16th
main stage || illustration by Julianna Bright
cast and crew || photos || tv spots || blogs about Twelfth Night/Beard of Avon || study guide || pre-show dinners

The Beard of Avon runs approximately 2 hours, 25 minutes, with one intermission.

Portland Center Stage presents two productions simultaneously in repertory sharing sets, costumes and many of the same actors in both productions. (These two plays will be playing on alternating nights and require purchase of separate tickets.) The Beard of Avon is Amy Freed’s bawdy, delicious, mind-bending comedy about the true authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. An aspiring young spear carrier (Will Shakspere) is enlisted by Edward de Vere (infamous murderer, lecher and nobleman) to serve as his front man for the plays he wants to see mounted. As their partnership develops, Will’s knowledge and understanding of the theater also grows and the line between mentor and protegé gets very blurry. Who actually wrote the plays? An uneducated actor who was losing his hair? Or the brilliant but tawdry Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford? Or was it Sir Francis Bacon? Or Christopher Marlowe? Or, dare we dream it, Her Majesty, Elizabeth Regina herself.

“…riveting tale and flawless stagecraft […] make this the best ensemble piece seen in Portland this season.” —Eric Bartels, Portland Tribune

In repertory with Twelfth Night
By William Shakespeare; Directed by Jane Jones
January 22 – March 9, 2008 || main stage

Twelfth Night runs approximately 2 hours, 25 minutes, with one intermission.

Throughout The Beard of Avon, frequent references are made to Twelfth Night, making them perfect partners to present in tandem. Perhaps Shakespeare’s finest comedy, Twelfth Night tells the story of Viola, a young woman who finds herself shipwrecked in an unknown country. Disguising herself as a boy to ensure her safety, she soon encounters and falls in love with Duke Orsino, who also develops tender, but perplexing, feelings for her (er, him) as questions of sexual identity, desire and longing spin into a heady concoction. Tender, poignant outpourings of the heart lie next to some of the Bard’s silliest (and most low-brow) double-entendres, while both romance and adventure emerge in full bloom. In typical Shakespearean fashion, boys play girls, girls play boys, girls play boys playing girls and all’s well that ends well in this charming tale of love and misunderstanding. Directed by Jane Jones, Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre, whose delightful production of Pride and Prejudice was one of the hits of the 05/06 season.

“Plotwise, it’s like a drink so fizzy that it stirs itself. And what bubbles up here are vibrant comic performances all around. And [Jennifer] Taylor’s Viola, as the driving force of it all, has an easy charisma that makes everyone’s affection for her seem natural.” —Marty Hughley, The Oregonian

11 comments

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Kim Kovacs said in 1-25-2008 @ 11:24:46

We saw “Twelfth Night” last night, and all I can say is WOW! We thoroughly enjoyed the production. My friend & I are 10-year subscribers to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and we both thought the PCS production was at least as good as any of the Shakespeare plays they’ve produced in recent years, and better than most. Well done!

Chris Kratochvil said in 2-6-2008 @ 11:31:53

My wife and I saw “Twelfth Night” last night and loved the performance. Sir Toby Belch, Malvolio and Duke Orsino were highlights while Viola was compelling in her identity/love triangle plight. The comedic subplot stole the show though. Great stuff.

Al & Kris Rowley said in 2-10-2008 @ 12:39:11

The entire PCS experience was way above our expectations. From the front door, through the atrium activities, down to the stage, setting, seats, sound, volunteers…professionalism was very evident. The players and the play were larger than life and so good. Thank you

ElVida Walrod said in 2-11-2008 @ 18:21:09

My son & I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of “Twelfth Night”on Thursday Feb 7th. I thought Sir Andrew did a terrific job. His physicality was superb. All members of the cast were great but I keep seeing Sir Andrew in my mind. I was impressed that I had no trouble understanding any of the dialog. I have not always had that experience with Shakespeare.That was my first experience with this company. I am sure it will not be my last. I was delighted with the experience.

Brandy said in 2-12-2008 @ 23:37:18

I loved your performance of Twelfth Nigh and am coming back in a few days to see The Beard of Avon - I’m very excited. Congratulations to the cast, crew, and director. It was wonderfully funny, touching, and racy in all the right places. Wonderful! Thanks so much.

Lanny Shuler said in 2-16-2008 @ 09:28:14

This is the second year of subscription to Portland Center Stage for me and my 13 year old daughter and we both feel it is the highlight of our annual entertainment experience. After so thoroughly enjoying “Twelfth Night” just last night, we are anxiously waiting for the box office to open this morning to see how soon we can see “The Beard Of Avon”. Thank you for providing such enjoyable, consistent top quality theater.

Joan Levine said in 2-21-2008 @ 10:53:48

“The Beard of Avon” was an excellent surmise of how one person could have written so many plays! One of our party, a young man from NYC, was astounded that there was any question about the identity of Will Shakespeare! It was funny, bawdy, and, especially for those familiar with famous lines from Shakespearean plays, a treat to hear them spoken in the context of the unassuming Will Shakspeare’s life. Great production!

Ellie said in 2-21-2008 @ 12:06:40

i really liked twelfth Night. Great job to all of the actors in it.
PS> how do you get involved in PCS?

Calvin Arnason said in 2-28-2008 @ 23:53:58

We have been going to plays here in Portland for the last 12 years. The production of Twelfth Night was one of the two best we have seen in that whole period. It was terrific.

Bill G. said in 3-10-2008 @ 14:39:35

Excellent production by a company of well rehearsed actors. While the ensemble performance was superb, my personal favorite was Malvolio.

All in all a very enjoyable and well done performance.

Allan W said in 3-13-2008 @ 08:57:40

My wife and I watched the Beard of Avon, outstanding. Prior to having kids we would frequent the Oregon Shakespeare festival in Ashland attending all of the performances, meeting and greeting with the actors as we could and were thoroughly impressed with the level of performance; this performance was no exception. Portrayal of William here was a bit in the one-off category and was absolutely hilarious at al the right times and sombering w/o bringing a tear. A great performance, we highly recommend it.