**** Recommended Looking for adventure with your Shakespeare? Pericles definitely is the show for you – a fantastical soap opera, chock full of adventure, comedy, tragedy and double-dealing. Escape into a world of kings & queens, shipwrecks, pirates, goddesses – even evil stepmothers – with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pericles. Don’t miss this show! 4 Spotlights.
Pericles is one of Shakespeare’s last plays – the ones people call the romances – and there is apparently some debate whether Shakespeare even wrote the whole play. In fact, the language is not as difficult to follow as most of Shakespeare’s plays. The bard must have mellowed a bit in his old age, since Pericles is about redemption – a theme that rarely appears in his earlier works.
The Royal Shakespeare Company brought their production of Pericles lock, stock and production crew, from their home in Stratford-upon-Avon. Everyone has a British accent, with a couple of characters even dropping into Cockney slang. It might be a little hard to understand, but they’re British, what did we expect?
Pericles is directed by Tamara Harvey with Scenic Design by Jonathan Fensom, Costume Design by Kinnetiia Isidore and Lighting Design by Ryan Day. Music Direction is by Elinor Peregrin.
I had more problems hearing a couple of the actors, especially when they were facing away from the audience. Fortunately for the hearing-challenged like me, there’s a large screen displaying the dialogue hanging next to the stage.
A narrator tells us that Pericles (Zach Wyatt), a prince of Tyre looking for fame and fortune, decides to become a suitor for the Daughter (Chyna-Rose Frederick) of King Antiochus (Felix Hayes). To win her hand, a suitor must solve the riddle – or have his head cut off and displayed in the palace courtyard. Because he’s the hero, Pericles solves the riddle but it’s a terrible secret, so Pericles flees for his life.
Pericles ends up in Tarsus, which is suffering from a famine. When the compassionate Pericles gives Tarsus his entire shipload of grain, he earns the gratitude of the Governor, Cleon (Sasha Ghoshal – at my performance) and his wife, Dionyza (Gabby Wong), who promise they will always honor him. Since he’s still in jeopardy, Perseus sets sail again.
After a terrible storm at sea, he washes ashore at Pentapolis, which is ruled by a just King, Simonides (Christian Patterson) and his wife, Lychorida (Chyna-Rose Frederick), just in time for a jousting tournament. Wearing his rusted armor – which has conveniently washed ashore – he wins the tournament. At a celebration – with an incredibly cool dance sequence – that night, he wins the hand of the king’s daughter, Thaisa (Leah Haile).
When it’s safe for him to return home, Pericles and Thaisa (who is very pregnant) set sail. Alas, during another terrible storm, Thaisa gives birth and apparently dies. After her body is consigned to the sea, Pericles stops in Tarsus where he leaves his baby daughter Marina with Cleon and Dionyza, while he sails away to mourn his lost love.
Meanwhile, Thaisa’s coffin washed ashore in Mytilene. After she’s miraculously restored to life by the magician, Cerimon (Jacqueline Boatswain), Thaisa vows to dedicate the rest of her life to the goddess, Diana (Chyna-Rose Frederick).
Sixteen years later, in Tarsus, Marina (Rachelle Diedericks) has grown into a beautiful girl. Dionyza hates that Marina outshines her daughter, so she instructs her servant, Leonine (Sam Parks) to kill her. He takes to the shore, but before he can do the deed, Marina is kidnapped by pirates who sell her to a brothel. Her virginity is a valuable commodity to Pandar (Felix Hayes) and Bawd (Jacqueline Boatswain) but Marina fearlessly rejects every potential customer including Lysimachus ((Kel Matsina), the Governor of Mytilene.
Will Marina ever accept a customer? Will she ever meet her father? Will Dionyza be caught? These questions will be answered and coincidences will be explained, leading to a happy ending – unlike many of Shakespeare’s plays.
Also appearing: in Tyre – Helicanus (Philip Bird), Escanes (Sam Parks), Lords (Sasha Ghoshal, Kel Matsena, Emmanuel Olusanya); in Antioch – Thaliard (Miles Barrow); in Pentapolis – Fishermen (Miles Barrow, Felix Hayes, Sam Parks); in Ephesus – Gentleman (Philip Bird), Lady (Miriam O’Brien); in Mytilene – Boult (Miles Barrow).
Musicians: Elinor Peregrin (Trombone/Percussion), Rianna Henriques (Flute/Clarinet/Saxophone), Dai Pritchard (Clarinet/Bass Clarinet/Saxophone), Elaine So (Percussion/Chinese Dulcimer), Rosie Bergonzi (Percussion).
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)s Pericles runs through December 7th in the Courtyard Theatre at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre on Navy Pier, Chicago. Parking in CST’s designated area in the Navy Pier Garage is available at a 40% discount with validation from CST.
Running time is two hours, 35 minutes with an intermission. Performances are Tuesdays at 7:00 (except November 12th & 19th); Wednesdays at 1:00 & 7:00 pm (no evening performance on November 27th); Thursdays at 7:00 (except November 28th); Fridays at 7:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 & 7:00 pm; and Sundays at 2:00 pm (with an additional evening performance on December 1st at 7:00 pm.
Accessible performances: Audio-described performance with optional touch tour, Sunday, November 17th at 2:00 pm; Open Captioning, Wednesday, November 20th at 1:00 & 700 pm; Projected Spanish translated performance, Thursday, November 21st at 7:00 pm; and ASL interpreted performance, Friday, November 22nd at 7:00 pm.
Tickets start at $110. FYI (312) 595-5600 or www.chicagoshakes.com.