“Shakespeare reminds us of our common humanity,” announced Harold Munro, Editor-in-chief of The Vancouver Sun during the pre-show to Will’s Wake, an event hosted on April 23, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
The pre-show, in the entrance hall of the BMO Theatre, featured a live jazz band, fancy appetizers, an overpriced bar and British expats and Shakespearian scholars dressed in their best, as though the Bard himself was going to be present. It appeared that no one in attendance was under 30.
To everyone’s surprise and delight, attendees were witness to an impromptu, unrehearsed sneak peek of Bard on the Beach’s Romeo and Juliet, particularly the famous balcony scene which had Juliet lamenting on the second floor of the entrance hall while Romeo weaved his way through the crowd, proclaiming the intensity of his love.
Afterwards, everyone filed into the theatre to view performers reciting standout Shakespearean speeches from the Bard's plays, including Hamlet, The Winter’s Tale and Troilus and Cressida. In addition, there was an excerpt from Free Will, a modern work which explores how Shakespeare’s characters would fair in the 21st century, and a musical rendition of Come Away Come Away Death, a song featured in Twelfth Night.
As fantastic as each actor was, it was not their theatrical prowess that made the evening magical but the personal, anecdotal nature of their pieces. Performers began their time on stage explaining how Shakespeare had changed their lives and the lives of those around them.
“Shakespeare never knew,” Mary Hartman began, before telling a few stories about some of her grade school students who, in her experience, developed friendships and confidence from their studies of Shakespeare, whether in the English classroom or on the high school stage.
Bob Fraser regaled the audience with the story of his first time playing Hamlet for Bard on the Beach, and how he was instructed to scream “O vengeance!” (Hamlet 2.2.544) with so much force that he could be heard across the water from Vanier Park, where the event is annually held.
Tom Pickett told a story of his younger self, who excitingly got to take out a wonderful girl to the school play, but completely forgot she existed as Shakespeare’s words immediately captured all his attention and affection.
It was interesting to see the various ways that Shakespeare influenced and inspired people and how these accomplished performers got to where they are now. The night made the audience reflect upon their own relationships with Shakespeare and how his influence compelled each person to attend an event in his honour. Regardless, an enormous love and respect for Shakespeare was felt throughout the entire show.
At the conclusion of the evening, Dean Paul Gibson, after his Falstaff monologue from Henry IV said, “If we have the opportunity to choose life, we must,” reflecting upon the tragic nature of many of Shakespeare’s plays.
A well-deserved standing ovation ended the evening. Overall, it was an intimate and superb event that makes one very impatient to see more of Bard on the Beach this summer.