It will come as no surprise that this all-female mashup of Henry VI Parts I, II & III (the War of the Roses, source material for Game of Thrones) was a hit with me. It's Shakespeare, politics, action, intrigue, and moments of movement with dancelike potency - all with a cast of powerful, versatile women.
It was head-spinning seeing this play twice between January-February 2017. In six weeks, the public stage of national politics seemed to convulse and shudder as if giving birth to Richard III. In these plays, figures like Henry VI are almost written as caricatures, with both beauty of language and highlighted humanity thrown into sharp relief, their actions abstracted to their most memorable arcs and tableaus. It felt familiar, as our current political parties cast each other in what often seems like real-time historical fiction.
In the world of the stage, it's an enjoyable and almost therapeutic experience to get shaken up by the humanity, humor and heartache in Shakespeare even as the drama plays out. This production uses simple sets, dramatic lighting, an abstracted chorus, and fights intercut with stylized taiko drumming. In between this exciting and intuitively understandable action, human moments emerge where the talented actresses shine in touching the heart of the matter, underneath it all.
Commentary on the roles of women was unavoidable, but while opportunities were not missed to use the dialogue, most telling was the simple fact of exemplary performances in every role. When a character makes a side comment that women are capable of ruling, but they put up with a lot of shit, there are 18 women in the process of knocking out a war saga with virtuosity (often literally, knocking over set pieces) - no more needs be said.
Most striking was actually the commentary on war. Using dancer's grace to portray brutal acts abstracted into mesmerizing rote, this production gave a weighty universality to battle scenes. A father finding he had slain his son, and a son finding he had slain his father, were played by the same two actresses, hold each other in their arms. In a split second they change between who is dead, and who is alive. More partners appear around the stage, repeating the same motions in beats of the drum, giving the impression the same scene has played out hundreds of times in a few minutes across the civil war.
Many blockbusters try and don't succeed as well in giving their combat such memorable, epic moments. But clearing away that noise and boiling it down to human moments accomplished much more.
The plays run through March 12, in two parts - marathon performances are almost sold out. It's great news a daring, appealing project like this found such traction - I would love to see more like it.