Rarely performed play about friendship, loyalty & love
Shakespeare BASH’d continues its 2023/24 season with a full production of William Shakespeare’s collaboration with John Fletcher, The Two Noble Kinsmen, a tragicomedy of two honourable cousins that challenges expected ideas of gender, sexuality, romance and ceremony. Presented from Thursday, January 25 to Sunday, February 4, 2024 on The Theatre Centre’s Incubator stage, this layered tragicomedy, both mythic yet deeply contemporary, is a multifaceted story filled with surprising excitement, beautiful poetry, and breathtaking spectacle.
Best friend cousins come to blows over a beautiful princess
The Two Noble Kinsmen was one of Shakespeare’s last plays, a tragicomedy written in collaboration with protégé John Fletcher. The play will be given the BASH’d bare-bones treatment with its stunning verse at the forefront. Toronto audiences are in for a treat with this opportunity to experience this unique, hilarious and stunning play.
Palamon and Arcite, cousins and close friends fighting for Thebes, are captured when the Thebans lose to the Athenians. While in prison, they happen to see Princess Emilia from their window and both fall in love with her, becoming bitter rivals as a result. Their subsequent escapes, a love triangle with the jailer’s daughter, and pursuit of Emilia ignite further strife and fighting, with three prayers to the goddess Diana sealing their fates.
Featuring a powerhouse cast
The production will feature Shaw Festival favourite Michael Man and Stratford star Emilio Vieira as the titular cousins Arcite and Palamon. They’ll be joined by Kate Martin (A Million Billion Pieces, YPT) as the object of their affection Emilia, BASH’d Co-Artistic Director Julia Nish-Lapidus as shunned lover, the Jailer’s Daughter, Melanie Leon (Goneril, BASH’d Lear; Shakespeare By the Sea) and Jeff Yung 容海峯 (Prodigal, Howland/Crow’s; Trojan Girls and the Outhouse of Atreus, OtM/Factory Theatre) as the royal Hippolyta and Theseus, Daniel Briere (Stratford Festival, RMTC, BASH’d) as the Jailer and Schoolmaster, and 郝邦宇 Steven Hao (Dream In High Park; Cockroach, Tarragon) as Pirithous and the Wooer.
Rounding out the cast are two powerhouse trios: Jennifer Dzialoszynski (Shaw Festival; Fairview, Canadian Stage), Madelaine Hodges (賀美倫) (Regan, BASH’d Lear; Killing Time: A Gameshow Musical, Mixtape Projects) and Breanne Tice (Cordelia, BASH’d Lear; YES Theatre, Theatre Direct) as the Queens and more. And Joshua Browne (The Antipodes, Coal Mine Theatre), Tristan Claxton (Oswald, BASH’d Lear; Three Ordinary Men, Cahoots Theatre), and Le Truong (The Revenger’s Tragedy, BASH’d) as Countrymen, Knights and more.
About Shakespeare BASH’d
A “Bash” is a crushing blow.
It can be powerful and done with passion.
It can be about making an attempt, going at it all on your own.
It can also be a wild night.
Shakespeare BASH’d is an artist-driven initiative that seeks to make classical theatre welcoming, inviting and social. They seek to synthesize the classical with the modern, to look at the plays from a place of curiosity, joy, investigation, truth and love. They present staged readings and full productions of seldom-seen plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries in casual, social settings and intimate theatre venues, creating an engaging, entertaining and accessible storytelling experience for audiences.
(Photo credits: Shakespeare BASH’d.)
Event details
Hosted by: Shakespeare BASH’d
Type of event: theatre performance
Director: James Wallis
Featuring: Daniel Briere, Joshua Browne, Tristan Claxton, Jennifer Dzialoszynski, 郝邦宇 Steven Hao, Madelaine Hodges (賀美倫), Melanie Leon, Michael Man, Kate Martin, Julia Nish-Lapidus, Breanne Tice, Le Truong, Emilio Vieira, Jeff Yung 容海峯. Read more about the cast and crew here.
Dates: Thursday, January 25, 2023 – Sunday, February 4, 2024
Start times: Tuesdays – Saturdays @ 7:30 PM ET (doors at 7:00 PM); Sunday matinées @ 2:00 PM ET (doors at 1:30 PM, with masks mandatory for the Sunday, January 28 performance)
Duration: 3 hours (including intermission)
Cost: Pay-what-you-like: C$25.00 Regular, $35.00 Supporter & $50.00 Patron
Location: The Theatre Centre, Incubator, 1115 Queen St. W, Toronto, ON, M6J 1J1, Canada.
Booking link: Book your tickets here
Contact Details: Shakespear BASH’d; admin@shakespearebashd.com, shakespearebashd.com
Accessibility: The Theatre Centre is physically accessible to audiences and artists alike. Each level has a barrier-free washroom and there’s a lift available for public use. If you have questions or need specific accommodations, please email or call the box office at 416-538-0988 and they’ll do their best to help you out. While the box office staff is working from home there will not be anyone on site to answer the phone. Leave a message and they will endeavour to return your call within 24 hours. More info here.
COVID-19 policy: Masks will be mandatory for the Sunday, January 28 performance. More info here.
Refund policy: Please contact the organizer.