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The Mad Pirate & the Mermaid: Centerpiece of Shakespeare & Company's Free Outdoor Bankside Festival

LENOX, MA: The world debut of the rollicking comedy The Mad Pirate and the Mermaid is the centerpiece of this year’s free, outdoor Bankside Festival, running June 25 thru August 30. The Mad Pirate and the Mermaid plays in two parts, performed on alternate days. Parts A and B both play on Saturdays. In addition to this production, the popular Bankside Festival includes such fare as the compelling and lively Bankside Humanties Series of talks and demonstrations throughout July, two specially prepared 15-minute Preludes that alternate in performance prior to most evening shows at Founders’ Theatre, and more. All Bankside Festival events are free, but tickets are often required as seating is limited at the Rose Footprint Theatre. Ticket information and schedule information is available at www.shakespeare.org as well as the Box Office, which can be reached at (413) 637-3353.

The Mad Pirate and the Mermaid was written specifically for Rose Footprint audiences by Company member Michael Burnet, who many patrons will remember from his role in The Servant of Two Masters at the Rose in 2006. It includes music by Bill Barclay, the Company’s Resident Musical Director, who also collaborated with Burnet on one of this year’s Preludes and wrote original music for All’s Well That Ends Well. Burnet directs Mad Pirate as well as both Preludes; he previously wrote and directed the very popular Preludes that accompanied King John in 2005 and Hamlet in 2006.

Set in 1723, the twilight of the “golden age” of piracy, Mad Pirate is deeply rooted in history, avoiding cultural clichés while evocating very colorful characters and situations. Burnet conducted extensive historical research into the language of the times, but also incorporated strong influences from mythology and Shakespeare’s later plays, commonly called “romances.” In the Elizabethan tradition, nine actors portray 21 characters, bringing to vivid life the story of two ships—one merchant, one pirate—on a comedic collision course with destiny. Barclay worked from the great tradition of sea chanteys to create the lively and stirring music.

Burnet says the setting of the outdoor, tented Rose Footprint is the ideal for this story. “I think the style of playing down there is really pure theatre, it’s really as close to what the Elizabethans had that you can get. There’s such a level of raucousness and audience participation at the Rose. It’s common light so the audience can’t hide and the actors can’t hide. You never know if an actor is going to come out and sit in your lap, or take your purse and walk away. It’s in that spirit—you just never know exactly what’s going to happen. It’s definitely a pirate spirit, a seafaring spirit.” Despite the onstage piracy, Burnet promises that no purses will be removed permanently.

The Mad Pirate, Prettyboy Bart, is the protégé of the famous pirate Blackbeard, and his crew of hapless pirates capture three ships belonging to the merchant captain Erasmus and his two sons, Cyrus and Palomides. Little do they know, their lives are inextricably linked by a tragic event that occurred thirteen years prior. The mermaid Marina must figure out how to set everything right. She must reunite lost loves, three sets of identical twins, feuding brothers, father and son, one man with his better self, and one woman with her true identity. With the addition of a hidden treasure, a mysterious island, some boy-crazy Sirens, shark attacks, battles at sea, swashbuckling, swordfights, and musical numbers, the result is a farcical tale of magic and redemption.

Additional programming for Bankside includes S&Co’s very popular community reading of The Declaration of Independence on July 4th, and Wild & Whirling Words (on-going) a fast-paced introduction to Shakespeare’s words, times, and language created by S&Co’s Education program.

Once again, participants from the Company’s Summer Performance Institute are integrated into the Bankside productions, composing the cast of Wild & Whirling Words and one of the two Preludes. (They also perform in All’s Well That Ends Well, which begins performances on June 20.) These six actors are early career professionals who have been selected through the Training Program from all over the world to come to S&Co. and perform alongside our Company actors.

In addition, S&Co. continues to offer an eclectic variety of lectures and demonstrations with its Bankside Humanities Series (see press release to come) that will include a host of lively events, from French food demonstrations by author and official S&Co. food historian Francine Segan to a demonstration by noted falconer Larry Keating. Both Burnet and Barclay will also present Bankside lectures, on the art of stage combat and the role of music in the Elizabethan world picture, respectively.

In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Banksyde, a small area on the South Bank of the Thames River near London Bridge, was a place of relaxed rules and flexible morality. Rogue businesses and theatricals thrived, and at the center of this bustling community were the Playhouses. People from all walks of life would escape the rigid laws of the royals and the puritanical admonitions of the pious to a place where they could more fully exercise their own individual consciences. The flowering of the playhouses on Banksyde took place during a relatively brief period from 1587, when The Rose was built, until 1642 when the new power of the Puritan government closed them all by Act of Parliament. During those years, playhouses like The Swan (1595), The Globe (1599), and The Hope (1614) joined the Rose in a thriving business with playhouses packing in anywhere from 1,200 to 3,000 people in spaces where they were literally pressed together shoulder to shoulder.

Banksyde was a place where common people could hear and consider the great philosophical questions of the day, thrill to the graphic enactment of the most recent battle across the Channel, and witness the enactments depicting the latest crime in the street. Before and after performances, people could indulge in activities taking place in similarly crowded venues for dancing, singing, drinking, eating, staged combats, and other less wholesome pleasures of the flesh.

Bankside Programs:

Preludes (The Argument of Palamon and Arcite & The Musical Prelude)
Fifteen minute entertainments playing prior to Founders’ performances at 7:15 pm on the Prelude stage, outside Founders’ Theatre
June 26—August 31, playing in repertory

The Preludes provide Company artists an opportunity to explore the age-old traditional form of entertainment: the “street performer.” Thriving for hundreds of years during the Middle Ages, the street performer kept the spirit of the Theatre alive (although often on the run). All Preludes run approximately 15 minutes and end at 7:30 pm, when the doors to Founders’ open for seating for the evening productions of either The Ladies Man, All’s Well That Ends Well, or Othello.

The Argument of Palamon and Arcite
Directed by Michael Burnet
Cast: Scott Renzoni, Laurie Riffe, Enrico Spada

Taken from Act II of The Two Noble Kinsmen by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher. Palamon and Arcite are cousins and close friends imprisoned in Athens after the defeat of their city, Thebes. From their prison window they spy a beautiful woman and both immediately fall in love. Friendship turns to rivalry as the two imprisoned men bicker over who has the greater claim to love.

The Musical Prelude
Conceived and directed by Michael Burnet and Resident Musical Director Bill Barclay

This Prelude features the highly talented Summer Performance Institute participants who can also be found playing music and singing onstage in Founders’ Theatre during All’s Well That Ends Well. The program includes a selection of songs from the 1500’s that will transport you into the Elizabethan world and prepare you for an evening in the theatre. Cast: Summer Performance Institute participants Brittany Morgan, Morganne Davies, Grace Trull, Mike Moreno, Andy Talen, Doug Seldin, and Rondrell McCormick.

the mad pirate and the mermaid
Written and directed by Michael Burnet; original music by Bill Barclay
June 25 – August 30, playing in two parts and in repertory on the Rose Footprint (running time is 60 minutes for each part)

The cast features: Aaron Adams (Palomides/ Expendable Pirate), Ben Brinton (Pants-down Elmer Blythe / Frownin’ Ted Hacke), Samantha Cullen (Marina), Jamie Greenland (Mad Pirate Prettyboy Bart/ Ariadne), David Joseph (Cyrus/Expendable Pirate), Dan Kurtz (Sailor/ Pirate/ Amadora), Bob Lohbauer (Erasmus / Mr. Kidd), Ehren Remal (Sailor/ Pirate/ Crysella), Steve Unwin (Sailor/Pirate/ Hygeia), Eric Corbett Williams (Dancing Shark).

wild & whirling words
Written by Kevin G. Coleman
Directed by Dennis Krausnik
August 3—August 31, playing in repertory on the Rose Footprint (running time is 45-minutes)

Created by the Company’s nationally acclaimed Education Program and written by Director of Training Kevin G. Coleman, Wild & Whirling Words is an energetic, fast-paced, hilarious peek into Shakespeare’s world and Elizabethan life and is enjoyable for all ages. Featuring Summer Performance Institute participants Brittany Morgan, Morganne Davies, Grace Trull, Mike Moreno, Andy Talen, Doug Seldin, Rondrell McCormick. Performances are 45 minutes in length and enjoyable for all ages.

The Declaration of Independence
Wednesday, July 4, at 3:00 pm

Back by popular demand at Bankside this unique community reading and entertainments includes Company artists, neighbors, local dignitaries, and state representatives who will converge on the tented Rose Footprint for a celebration of one of the most historically significant documents ever penned. Past readings have been standing-room-only so audiences are encouraged to arrive early to ensure seating.

For specific Bankside playing times and dates, call the box office at (413) 637-3353, or email boxoffice@shakespeare.org.  Although all Bankside events and productions are FREE, please note that tickets are required for all Rose Footprint shows and lectures. Seating is limited, and events often reach capacity. Pick up tickets in advance. Visit Shakespeare & Company’s website, created by Studio Two of Lenox, MA, online at www.shakespeare.org.