Photo Credit: Max Anderer
For its first-ever show, brand-new Aura Theatre Collective presents a modernized version of William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. That story, both in its original version and this retelling, is used to convey a message about the female body and sexual assault, and director Jaimelyn Gray explicitly links it to the #MeToo movement.
Measure for Measure takes place in Vienna, Austria, while the Duke (Randall Anderson) is out of the city, leaving the governance to Lord Angelo (Timothy Barnes). Angelo is extremely strict and applies the law to the letter, supposedly to improve the mores of the city, condemning young Claudio (Jarrod Langwinski) to death under the guise of fornication for impregnating his own fiancée. Claudio’s sister, Isabella (Laker Thrasher), a novice nun, is offered a deal to save her brother’s life: lose her virginity to Angelo.
Women’s bodies are at the center of the show—be it through Isabella, of course, but also through the character of Mariana (Kira Renkas), betrothed to Angelo, or even a surprising dance number opening the production. Angelo, who pretends to be a paragon of virtue, is a vile man, and the story takes some fascinating directions before a finale that clearly comments on Donald Trump’s attitude toward women. Measure for Measure is known for its silent and open ending, which can be interpreted in vastly different ways depending on body language; Aura Theatre’s version is a gut punch and certainly the best reason to see this play.
The whole show is keenly conscious of current events and is depressingly relevant 400 years after having been written. Costumes and décor are minimal, sometimes looking like the actors just stepped on stage with what they had been wearing that day, but it gives the production a unique tone. Although it can be hard to properly hear the actors on stage due to the echo in the large space of the Irish Cultural & Heritage Center, the show’s location, at the foot of a giant pipe organ in a beautiful building, could hardly be considered a downside.
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Acting is the show’s strongest point, especially with the leading trio composed of Isabella, the Duke and Angelo. Delivering the Shakespearean monologues efficiently and cutting through the more soporific parts of The Bard’s writing, Aura Theatre’s actors appeal to contemporary sensibilities to make audiences react viscerally to scenes of sexual assault in particular, and the deep sense of hopelessness they create. (Audiences should be aware that violent and potentially triggering scenes of sexual assault are depicted.)
Through Nov. 24 at the Irish Cultural & Heritage Center, 2133 W. Wisconsin Ave.
