Show Notes
The Winter's Tale—one of Shakespeare's final plays—tells the story of two neighboring kings, Leontes of Sicilia and Polixenes of Bohemia. Friends since childhood, their relationship is put under a grave test when a maddened and jealous Leontes publicly accuses his beautiful wife, Hermione, of infidelity. Turbulent chaos engulfs Sicilia as Leontes' miscalculations devastate his family line, but in an unusual move, Shakespeare quickly turns the needle toward redemption with the growls of a bear and the passage of sixteen years, as announced by a personified Time. Whereas the first half of the play portrays the tragic downfall of a man who lets his emotions severely cloud his reasoning, the second half is one of pastoral revelry and natural reverence, set in the lush Bohemian countryside and marked by the purity of amorous youthfulness. In this setting, past sins are allowed to dissolve, the paths to redemption are opened, and fallen lives are given a glorious renewal, all of which leads to one of the most moving set pieces in the entire Shakespearean canon.And to perform it all? Three men (Tony Addison, Craig Franklin, and Tomas Peter) and one woman (Sonia), determined to give you a performance of this magical play that you will never forget. You thought you knew your Shakespeare? Well, think again! ( Tomas Peter) Craig Franklin: Narrator; Polixenes; Antigonus; Old Shepherd; Dion; Dorcas; Gaoler; Second Lord; First Gentleman; Officer of a Court of Judicature; Second Lady & First Attendant. Tomas Peter: Camillo; Florizel; Mamillius; Clown; Cleomenes; Emilia; Servant to Leontes; First Lord; Third Gentleman; Crier & Second Attendant. Sonia: Hermione; Paulina; Perdita; Archidamus; Mopsa; Second Gentleman & Time. Tony Addison: Leontes; Autolycus; Mariner; Servant to the Old Shepherd & First Lady.
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