Nature Theater of Oklahoma
In Nature Theater of Oklahoma's uniquely off-the-wall theatrical world, conceptual inquiries underpin a playful sense of fun. The New York–based company won many local fans with Poetics: A Ballet Brut and No Dice performed here in 2008, and we've co-commissioned this next pair of productions, which you can see here in the same week. In both, as in No Dice, phone interviews Nature Theater directors Pavol Liska and Kelly Copper record with close friends and company members are used verbatim as the plays' texts.Nature Theater of Oklahoma
Romeo and Juliet
Tue, May 18–Thu, May 20, 2010 | 8:00PM
Black Box on Mershon Stage
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Columbus Dispatch critic Michael Grossberg loves the show too, writing "there have been many versions of Romeo and Juliet, but Nature Theatre of Oklahoma's is one of the funniest and subtly poignant that I've seen." Read his full review here.
For Nature Theater of Oklahoma's version of Shakespeare's great romantic tragedy, directors Pavol Liska and Kelly Copper asked friends and colleagues "can you tell me the story of Romeo and Juliet?"
On stage you'll see nine divergent recollections staged in order, accruing layers of unexpected meaning from the stacked variances, flights of fantasy, and invented characters that play out in counterpoint through the sequence of the retellings. As you'll discover, whenever memories waver, the creative juices really kick in to construct new worlds of desire, royal intrigue, and doomed love.
Note: With the increasing local presence of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Columbus in the coming years, look to us for several examples, like Nature Theater of Oklahoma, of very contemporary troupes that are also seeing value in the Bard's timeless plays as a jumping off point for their own dramatic ventures.
Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s Romeo and Juliet and Rambo Solo are productions of International Summerfestival / Kampnagel Hamburg and Salzburger Festspiele in coproduction with Kaaitheater Brussels, Workspace Brussels, Buda Kunstcentrum, Noorderzon Festival, Grand Theatre Groningen, and the Wexner Center for the Arts.
The Wexner Center for the Arts is a partner of the National Performance Network (NPN). This project is made possible in part by support from the NPN Performance Residency Program. Major contributors to NPN include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), the MetLife Foundation, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
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