On the evening of February 17th, Shakespeare fans and cynics alike packed into Trent University’s Nozhem Theatre to watch the Shakespeare Cabaret. The show was put on in collaboration between Trent’s English department and the Anne Shirley Theatre Company (ASTC) and is meant as a new spin on the department’s classic tradition of Shakespeare pub night. 

The night was host to a collection of comedic and deeply tragic scenes and included student performances of famous Shakespearean plays, with modern twists and interpretations of pivotal character moments from different plays, all centered around the theme of love and hate for the recently passed Valentine’s Day. The prompt was interpreted in a number of different ways by the performers, some directly performing monologues or scenes from different Shakespeare plays, others updating the scenes to be more modern, and some writing whole new scenes based on Shakespeare characters.

Each performance developed their act individually and submitted a video to ASTC and Stephen Brown to be picked for the final performance. They then had about a month to prepare by themselves, only meeting as a large group the night before the performance. This tech rehearsal was also the first time running the performance with lighting cues and in the actual theatre space. After some directorial feedback from Brown, they met up again for a dress rehearsal the afternoon of the performance, before finally, putting it on in front of a live audience.

The audience was seated at tables arranged in a circle on the stage floor of Trent’s black-box theatre. Lit by candles, the performers sat among the audience and would step into the middle to perform. Some performances used the space to their advantage, weaving their way in and out of the audience or asking for the audience to participate in their scenes

Hosted by Trent English professor Stephen Brown, who explained to Arthur the night before the performance “It’s a learning exercise for me, to be a host.” As the showrunner and main act for Trent’s annual Shakespeare pub night, as well as a few other school events, this was one of the first times he was out of the limelight. 

After the performance, however, he was raving about all the performers. 

“When you’ve got good performers, you don’t have to fill any dead air, you don’t have to come out and recover a moment that just went down the toilet. Tonight there was none of that,” Brown said. 

The first performance of the night was by Monica Atlshuler, who performed one of Shakespeare’s most famous monologues:“All the world’s a stage” from As You Like It. She explained to Arthur that she was excited to delve into a more serious acting experience. 

“Since I don’t get that many chances to do acting things I want to be able to do other types of scenes [than just comedy], because I have fun doing them all,” she said. 

One of the fan favourites of the night was a group act of a scene from Twelfth Night. The group actually met at the ASTC’s 48 hour writing and performance event earlier this year, where they resolved to take on this new challenge together. Even though they are not all Shakespeare aficionados, they discussed how fun Shakespeare’s language and style can be when you understand it. 

Manny Bissel-Barahana, a member of the group, explained that, “Once you get a hang of the actual lingo of it, and you understand the jokes behind it, you can make something of it.” 

The most unique performance of the night was by Lauren Yandt, with a rendition of “Cell Block Tango” from the musical Cabaret adapted for different female characters from Shakespeare, including Ophelia, Titania, Juliet, Olivia, Cordelia, and Lady Macbeth. As in the original song, each character presented arguments as to why the men in their life just had to die. Some are characters who are already portrayed as murderers in their respective plays and the murder of the men in their life would fit seamlessly, for others their anger is less explored and Yandt worked to create reasonings for violence that fit with the characters.

Yandt managed to capture the different voices of each character she portrayed, slipping easily between them. She told Arthur how she wanted to explore the often overlooked female characters of Shakespeare. “They are more than just over-emotional women. I wanted to give all my Shakespeare ladies a chance to share their story, because I think there’s a lot more to them than meets the eye.”

The performance most steeped in tragedy of the night was two monologues performed together of Ophelia and Hamlet by Christina Nikas and Mitchell Scott. The pair dug into the grief both characters feel in Hamlet. They explored the idea of lost love, both familial and romantic through death and how that can haunt people. 

Throughout the event, there were also performances by a trio from Trent Improv consisting of Thomas Parry, Thomas Payne, and Kathleen Morgan. They performed during Act I, and also after the show, allowing time for the audience to vote on their favourite performances. 

Arthur spoke with Co-President of Trent Improv, Thomas Parry, who relayed his experience in that night’s skit, which included a puddle of “floor water” from an earlier performance that was left on the ground, and incorporated into their routine (and promptly ingested). When asked about the flavour, Parry responded that it “tasted like water that’d been on the floor for about four or five minutes,'' and—when prompted whether it was more sweet or savoury—declared it “100% more savoury” owing to the road salt which had been accumulated on the floor.

He was also impressed by the quality of the show, and how the performers had managed to put together their acts in the limited time they were given, as they only had roughly a month to create their performance, and for production to prepare theater.“It was all really really well done” and that it’s “amazing to watch the whole community come together.”

Stephen said his thank-yous to the audience for showing up to the event and being engaged with the performers, allowing them to bring their personal best. He also made sure to thank those who helped bring together the night, including Miriam Felman, ASTC event coordinator, and Madeleine Fortin, ASTC President, as well as Trent’s English department, Cultural Studies department, and Office of the President  through the T. E. W. Nind Endowment Fund for funding the event. 

The night concluded with cash prizes awarded to the audience’s favourite performers. The four $100 prizes were given to Lauren Yandt for “The Shakespeare Cell Block Tango,” Mason Perkins, Lily Prime, and Georgia Dunning for “Henry IV Part I meets the Mean Girls;” Mason Perkins on her own for “I was adored once too,” and Christina Nikas and Mitchell Scott for Hamlet. The $200 first place prize was given to Arden Payne, Maddy Mckay, Manny Bissel-Barahana, Gurleen Chambal, and Vic Bell for Twelfth Night. 

The ASTC will be performing Catch Me if You Can: The Musical this March and, if their Shakespeare Cabaret is anything to go off of, it will be an excellent show.