Dante and Shakespeare join forces on the stage

The directors — and creators — are Upper School faculty Anna Blagona and Julian Bauld. 

Says Bauld, “A couple of years ago Anna and I got to talking about what a great character the Porter is in Macbeth. Shakespeare suggests that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are entering hell. The Porter is a gatekeeper. It didn’t take long before we were discussing which Shakespearean characters were most suitable for damnation. Anna proposed we work on the idea and put a play together.” 

The two then decided on the characters — a fascinating mix that includes Hamlet, the Macbeths, Goneril and Regan from King Lear, Lavinia from Titus Andronicus and Iago from Othello —  and the moments from the plays. Then, Bauld explains, “we worked them into a narrative based on Inferno, the first part of Dante’s poem.” 

In the poem, a fictionalized Dante is literally and metaphorically lost; the poet Virgil from ancient Rome soon appears to guide him. Says Bauld, “I wrote speeches and dialogue for Virgil and Dante that allowed them to bridge their journey and meld it with the experiences of Shakespeare’s characters.”

Says Blagona, “Julian has an extraordinary ability to sew texts together and add his own, providing a gift for actors.”

The hybrid required scaffolding. “Anna suggested we add a Fool,” says Bauld, “which worked well with Virgil, who’s a pretty serious customer.” 

The directors’ ideas merged with those of set designer and fellow faculty Terry Denstedt, who has designed dozens of multi-faceted sets for the College’s theatrical productions. “As the set evolved,” Bauld says, “we changed aspects of the script to match what appeared in the theatre.” Adds Blagona, “Terry, as always, has created a set better than we imagined: the mark of a brilliant designer.” 

Asked about Dante’s work as it applies to audiences today, Bauld says, “Dante’s world is in some ways much different than the contemporary one, but it does put in perspective what we choose to accept and what we choose to reject. His world is one of judgement. He has an acute awareness of how human compulsion and behaviour can change civilization and culture.” 

As for Shakespeare, Bauld adds, “The characters are fun to revisit: some disturbing and others philosophical. The Fool is an interesting character to present, because he unabashedly tells people that their defenses are unconvincing.”

More than 20 actors from BSS and UCC are taking part. The cast, stage managers, and lighting and sound designers have been working with their directors since the beginning of January.