Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y.
Written by Bryan Dykstra, directed by John Sowle
“Why not make the best damn plays accessible to even us?”
On stage at Bridge Street Theatre, Bryan Dykstra’s play “Polishing Shakespeare” is presenting an argument for reconstruction. Or is it an argument against such an action? The play’s rapid-fire delivery of its iambic pentameter-ish lines makes it hard to tell. Janet, a young playwright, is being commissioned by Ms. Branch, artistic director of a regional theater company to “update” the language in Shakespeare’s plays utilizing a grant from Mr. Grant, one of the richest men in the country (an Elon Musk sort). She is more interested in her own play, which rips apart this same company’s board of directors and its insipid direction. The conflict is as real as it gets these days (although the play was written before the Trump 2.0 era began).
The play is as intriguing as it gets. Its jets are fueled by convictions that never sound true. And yet they do. We laugh at lines that don’t imply their meaning. And yet we are screening everything that is said, and everything that is done, because we want to make some sense of all the nonsense in this play. We hear them say the author’s thoughts, but it is for naught until the girl takes on the monologue that stops the dialogue that says so much, so fast, so furious. (Read this paragraph aloud and you will have the play in your grasp.)
Yvonne Perry, one of the region’s finest actresses, plays Ms. Branch. She handles the dialogue brilliantly, never letting up on the fast rhythmic patter and yet making it meaningful. Even when sitting at her desk, her body is in motion and she owns the stage. Under John Sowle’s masterful direction, she is hooking the audience, dragging us in, entertaining us and confusing us simultaneously. Perry has reached a new height in this play.
As the wealthy grantor, Grant, Steven Patterson delivers the most confusing lines in the most confusing manner. With lines like “I say, Hell to the no” in response to Perry’s line about Shakespeare: “Would you have us be Bereft of all that artistry because We don’t speak French? Our Russian isn’t up To snuff? Our Flemish is a blemish on Our school reports?” He takes us step by step into the massive argument the playwright makes about Shakespeare’s obscure lingo. What he does so well, he does very well.
Janet is played by Angelique Archer, who brings a very different dynamic into the play. Physically, she is practically not in the play but is somewhere outside of the world of regional theater. Vocally, she is the constant voice of reason. Her never-volatile reaction to what is thrown at her character gives the play its touch of reality. When it moves from comedy to drama, she leads the way.
John Sowle has given the show a rhythm that is irresistible. It grabs you and holds you even when you don’t understand what is being said, what it means, what it wants to lead you to. There is a dynamic stage gimmick in the second act that is so special it is unforgettable when the people on stage become actors in their own play and are still one another’s audience.
Carmen Borgia is responsible for the amazing set, which does things some people may not see, but they are dynamic and a bit alarming. He does this with the clever assistance of Video Artist Michael Pepe. Michelle Rogers’ costumes define the characters well, particularly Grant, whose attire never changes though time moves on.
This is likely to be the strangest play you will see anywhere this whole year. It is well worth seeing for its language and its argument. Having been involved in the process being proposed in the play, back in the early 1970s, I was more intrigued, perhaps, than anyone else in the theater. But even without that connection, the play will take you by the scruff of your neck and thrust you into a local foreign world.
“Polishing Shakespeare” plays at Bridge Street Theatre, 44 W. Bridge Steet, Catskill, NY, through April 27. For information and tickets, visit Bridge Street Theatre’s website or call (518) 943-3818.
