Measure for Measure is one of William Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, written in the middle of his career, and often termed one of his “problem plays” since there is not a definitive consensus of whether it should be considered one of his comedies or tragedies. The plot deals with themes of justice, exploring the balance between following the letter of the law versus showing compassion and mercy. It questions the difference between what is legally versus morally right.
The play begins with Duke Vincentio wondering if he has been too lenient in following his own laws. To test this theory, he passes his power to the strict judge Angelo and pretends to leave Vienna but secretly returns dressed as a friar to witness how Angelo wields his power. Angelo invokes an ancient law which punishes premarital sex with death and sentences Claudio to die for impregnating his betrothed Juliet prior to marriage. Claudio’s sister, a chaste novice nun, arrives to beg for mercy. The lecherous Angelo bargains with her, offering to spare Claudio if she agrees to give up her virginity and sleep with him. This is the ultimate hypocrisy since Angelo would be committing the “sin” that Claudio is accused of but can get away with it since no one will believe Isabella. The nun refuses to give up her soul to save her brother (much to his dismay). The Duke/Friar comes up with a plan whereby Angelo’s ex-fiancee Mariana, who Angelo dumped after her dowry was lost at sea, will sleep with Angelo while pretending to be Isabella. Despite getting his way, Angelo still orders the beheading of Claudio. The Duke/Friar intervenes again by arranging the head of a dead pirate to be presented to fake Claudio’s death.
In the last scene, the Duke reveals himself, forces Angelo to marry Mariana, produces the still alive Claudio, and then proposes to Isabella but the play ends without her answer. This ambiguous ending has been cause for much debate with a split opinion of whether she accepts or refuses yet another unwanted proposal from another powerful man.
I generally do not like watching Shakespearean plays as I find the flowery, archaic language difficult to understand and I spend so much energy trying to discern the meaning of what is spoken. I decided to watch
Crow’s Theatre’s production of Measure for Measure, adapted by Christopher Manousos, because of its play within a play format where a group of (deliberately unnamed) actors perform the Bard’s work as a radio program. The premise of this adaptation promises intrigue between the actors of the outer play, which would reflect upon the inner play. This added dimension intrigued me. To prepare, I read a detailed synopsis of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure which I summarized above.
The show was performed in the smaller Studio space in Crow’s Theatre with the stage set up in the round, or more accurately, in the “rectangle” as the audience were seated along all sides of an elongated rectangle. At the centre of the stage were two long, narrow tables that fit together to appear as if they were a single table. Once the show started, the tables were separated and moved to the left and right of the stage. On each table were props used to create sound effects for the radio show including a pair of boots that made stomping noises, bells for ringing, paper for crunching, chains, belts and various metal cups and plates.
Microphones attached to the corners of the tables where used in rotating fashion by the actors as they performed the Shakespearean play. Four chairs, one on each side of the rectangular audience seating, were marked as “reserved” with one of the chairs placed directly next to my seat. Once the performance began, actors who were not in the current scene would alternate sitting in one of these chairs.
Prior to the show, the room was bathed in stark white light and haze while during the radio performances, the lighting dimmed and changed to shades of greens, blues and violets. Whenever there was a break in performance, the bright white lighting reappeared, clearly delineating the inner and outer play.
While waiting for the show to start, we heard strange sound effects of drumming with the occasional echoey sound that reminded me of sonar or perhaps whales calling. It was never clear to me why these sounds were played since I did not detect the correlation to anything that happened later once the show started. I asked Google AI when I got home and the explanation was that the sounds tried to emulate the chaotic audio-recording environment and clarified that we were not supposed to be in 17th century Vienna. This was lost on me.
As the show started, five actors appeared on stage to perform the radio show, referenced only by their roles. There was the Sound technician, responsible for the foley effects as well as being the narrator who indicated the start and end of scenes, and announcing commercial breaks. The director and his very pregnant movie star wife strolled in hand-in-hand, followed by another actor who was friends with the director, and finally a beautiful, long-legged actress who was a last-minute substitute.
As these characters interacted, it seemed clear that their roles within Measure for Measure reflected their personalities in the outer play. Each of them played a main role as well as one or more smaller parts. The director, who appropriately played Angelo, was also in a position of power in the outer play. And similar to Angelo’s character, the director was smarmy and lascivious towards the substitute actress who was playing Isabella, leering at her and once pressing himself against her. The substitute actress was flustered and out of place, thrown into a high-pressured live broadcast with zero rehearsal time. This mirrored Isabella’s situation as she tried to negotiate with Angelo.
The visibly pregnant movie star appropriately played the pregnant Juliet as well as many other roles including Angelo’s spurned ex-fiancée Mariana, an elderly male magistrate, and a female brothel owner. The director’s friend played the Duke disguised as a Friar while the sound guy played Claudio, Claudio’s flamboyant, loose-lipped friend Lucio, and a pimp (bawd) named Pompey. At one point, the Sound guy performed an argument between Lucio and Pompey, signifying the switch back and forth between the two characters by donning and removing his sunglasses.
Watching Measure for Measure performed as a radio play with all the necessary sound effects, and watching the actors rapidly switch between characters as they navigated across the stage added an interesting dynamic. But the promised “outer play drama” never amounted to much and was much too subtle for me to fully appreciate at the time. There seemed to be some tension in the first act between the movie star and the substitute as they eyed each other uneasily. Then a shocking action closed the first act and we looked forward to watching the fallout in the second act. But nothing came of it and in the end, the play was mostly just a rendition of the inner play. This was disappointing for me. One interesting reference between the outer and inner plays occurred at the end after the radio show was done. As all the actors were leaving, the director complimented the substitute actress on her work and invited her to join his company. She looked a bit shell-shocked by the invitation, hesitated in her response and then the show faded to black. This was a direct callback to the Duke’s marriage proposal to Isabella at the end of Measure for Measure.
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