Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale is a bit of a mess. Three acts of intense drama open for two acts of comedy with a happy ending. It’s as though a couple of different plays half-finished plays got sutured together by some producer who had nothing else to stage at the time. Weird. So okay: so it’s one of Shakespeare’s problem plays. It’s solidly written, though. Don’t think about it too much and you’ll have a good time with it, which is exactly what Boozy Bard may be looking to do with its Shakespeare Raw production of the comedy.
The idea is that a group of actors arrive at the venue--a castle in the Pabst Brewery known as the Best Place Tavern. They chose characters at random and then go through the play with whatever characters they’ve ended up with. It’s a fun way to be casual (and perhaps a little drunk) with some of the most respected literature of the English language. Time and university tweed have made Shakespeare inapproachably stuffy to the general public. What better reason to hang out at a bar with a bard?
Boozy Bard presents Shakespeare RAW: The Winter’s Tale Aug. 8 - 10 at the Best Place Tavern on 901 W. Juneau Ave. Tickets are $10.00 at the door--half price for those titled enough to arrive dressed in “winter wear” in late summer.
