âSpeak what we feel not what we ought to say.â A quote from Edgar in Act V; Scene III of Shakespeareâs King Lear, one which actually did make it into this rendering of King Lear as presented by The Rude Mechanicals at the Greenbelt Arts Center through September 7th 2025. Often a show will sit and rankle with me, because of a certain line, a certain choice, a certain approach,
It may be the opinion of some that I was born to speak all mirth and no matter, but one doth not know how much an ill word can empoison liking. Letâs hope thatâs enough mangled lines from the Bardâs source material to bait the proverbial bear and get this review of The Rude Mechanicalsâ Much Ado About Nothing underway. Directed by Shirely Long, this Shakespearean comedy aboutâ well, mostly a fuss made over nothing,
What hempen home-spuns have we swaggering here? Tis a crew of Rude Mechanicals and they indeed find themselves Ill Met By Moonlight. Some six years in the making, TRM finally gets to bring their dream production of Shakespeareâs A Midsummer Nightâs Dream to light. UV light, that is. Playing at the Greenbelt Arts Center through September 9th 2023 and Directed by Joshua Engel, this judiciously rendered production of Midsummer is not your grandfolksâ fairy-tale.
Men are all dissemblers, liars, deceivers! Or something like it, so says playwright Hannah Cowley, author of The Belleâs Stratagem. Not to be confused with The Beauxâ Stratagem, by George Farquhar (though if you stick around in a few weeksâ time, you may see exactly that show on The Rude Mechanicalsâ stage!) Belle hit Drury Lane in 1780 whereas Beaux debuted quite a few decades before (and at Theatre Royal) in 1707.
What is a reasonable doubt? Google + Merriam-Webster says, âA reasonable doubt exists when a factfinder cannot say with moral certainty that a person is guilty or a particular fact exists. It must be more than an imaginary doubt, and it is often defined judicially as such doubt as would cause a reasonable person to hesitate before acting in a matter of importance.â Perhaps weâre not asking the right question. Perhaps the question should be âwhat causes someone to have reasonable doubt?â If you want the answer to that,
Hello.
My name is Amanda Gunther.
You killed all 37.
Prepare to be reviewed.
Going out with a rather impressive bangâ though by no means are they finished producing or existingâ The Rude Mechanicals, now in full-time residence at The Greenbelt Arts Center, have attained one of their coveted company goals: Produce all 37 of Shakespeareâs plays. Cymbeline, Directed by Erin Nealer, completes the quest of all 37.
For my part, I will have only those glorious, womanly
pleasures of being very verbose and very favorable to The Rude Mechanicalâs
production of William Wycherleyâs The Country Wife. A far cry from very
slovenly, though indeed âtis very drunk, this quirky Restoration comedy
(apparently there was humor in the restoration era) under the direction of Alan
Duda, finds its footing not in its original setting but rather in the posh and
swanky New York City of the 1950âs.
Amanda N. Gunther | TheatreBloom
Uncle Vanya, written by Anton Chekhov, is the story of a group of people embittered by loss, disappointment, disillusionment, and hardship, and the power of faith through adversity. A retired professor, Alexandre (Bill Bodie), and his glamorous young wife Yelena (Erin Nealer) visit the rural estate that funds their city lifestyle. The estate is run by Vanya, (Nathan Rosen) Alexandreâs deceased former wifeâs brother,
How goes the world? A loaded question if ever there was one to be asked, especially in this day and age. But set yourself back from this day and age, set your dial of existence back to 1978 in order to prepare yourself to digest The Rude Mechanicalsâ latest offering: Timon of Athens. Directed by Joshua Engel, this miscreant play of Williams Shakespeareâs is finding a new lens through which to be viewed in the hands of The Rude Mechanicals.
âMenâs evils manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water.â And we shall now ascribe the virtues of The Rude Mechanicals production of Henry VIII in ink. Well, digital ink. Directed and Choreographed by Liana Olear, this âlost historyâ (the most boring of the boring and banal of banal Shakespearean histories) is revitalized and given a new lease on life. Olearâs strategic placement of the historical recounting of the eighth Henry in the mid 1910âs lends itself to her dancerâs passion,
Discomfort guides this servantâs tongue, you see
When first to speak on the venue known as the DCAC
But fear not, playgoers, for I share with you
Good news of The Rude Mechanicals and their show of Richard II
Laboriously titled The Life and Death Of
They present to you from one floor above
A judiciously rendered version that moves quite free
Of this early and poetic tale of history
Directed by Michael F.