Shakespeare's 'Measure for Measure' Nov. 6-8

Story posted October 22, 2008

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The Duke of Vienna (Derek Brooks '12) plots with Friar Peter (Carolyn Trotman '11), as seen in a rehearsal of Measure for Measure.

The Bowdoin College Department of Theater and Dance will present Measure for Measure, one of Shakespeare's most complex and mature comedies, Thursday through Saturday, November 6-8, 2008. All performances will be at 8 p.m. in Pickard Theater, Memorial Hall, on the Bowdoin campus. Free tickets are available at the David Saul Smith Union information desk, by calling 207-725-3375, or at the door. The production is directed by Associate Professor of Theater Davis Robinson.

A comedy that often borders on the tragic, Measure for Measure examines the friction between human laws and natural law, spiritual purity and physical desire.

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Isabella (Kathleen Lewis '10) pleads for the life of her brother.

A duke, after presiding over a corrupt society for 14 years, puts an austere Puritan in charge to better enforce state laws. Observing the ramifications of this decision under the veil of disguise, the duke soon learns what people really think of him, and how easily a strict adherence to temporal laws can clash with higher laws of mercy and grace.

The new ruler's severity sets several subplots into motion, with the threats of death and terror hanging darkly over the extreme, often comic, society. The harsh absolutes dictated by Angelo's puritan zeal contrast with the moral laxity of Mistress Overdone's bawdy house. Isabella's unbending religious code is forced to bear the moral compromises of the duke's actions, fraught with human desires and fears.

Measure for Measure is not a neatly classifiable play. It explores and relishes contradictions, making it one of the most psychologically modern of Shakespeare's plays. It is ripe for a contemporary audience, as political power and hidden social and sexual agendas boil over both onstage and in our mainstream media on a daily basis.

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Juliet (Natalie Jimenez '11) watches as the father of her child is sentenced to death.

Election years, too, are always a particularly powerful time for doing theater. People are emotionally invested in the forces driving political leaders and the national debate. Feelings run high in the months leading up to November and trust is at a premium.

There could be no better time for a play that questions our morality, the law, power, sexuality, governance, and our understanding of self. Power, sex, and morality are on the front burner of everyone's consciousness, and it is a great time to plunge into a world that is equal parts poetic and human, one that lets us both celebrate and question our all too fragile democracy.

The Bowdoin performances of Measure for Measure are made possible with assistance from the Alice Cooper Morse Fund for the Performing Arts.

A public reception sponsored by the Association of Bowdoin Friends will be held in Drake Lobby after the Thursday performance.

For updated information the Theater and Dance online calendar.

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