The Rude Mechanicals, in residence at Greenbelt Arts Center (GAC), will perform William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: or What You Will live online on Saturday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, January 10 at 2:30 p.m. Shakespeare was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I to write the romantic comedy as a light entertainment to close out the Christmas season of 1601.
The Rude Mechanicals will put a modern twist on the play. They encourage you to login to a world where comedy and tragedy wear twin pajama pants. Where love, loss and friendship must evolve in isolation and be filtered through your screen. Where duels are settled with game controllers, not swords, and Alexa plays “the food of love” on command. This is the new world, and in this world, you can be whoever you want (as long as you’re at home). This is I.L.L.Y.R.I.A.
Director Tiffany M. Waters said, “In the spirit of continuing live performance during uncertain times, this production will focus on collaborating with actors to find ways to navigate this new medium. Twelfth Night will seek to explore themes of personal identity, relationships, isolation, love, loss and reunion.”
While the theater is closed due to the pandemic, Greenbelt Arts Center is dedicated to bringing online productions of important works to the residents of Greenbelt and the surrounding area. Performances will be online and available to the public from the website greenbeltartscenter.org. There is a suggested donation.
Jon Gardner is on the board of Greenbelt Arts Center.
