The phrase ‘active audience’ was redefined on Saturday night by The Lieder Theatre for their interactive show, Shakespeare on the Run.
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Running for its second year, the show led a group of up to 30 people to ten different locations around town while performing a range of popular Shakespeare acts.
Gone were the stationary audiences nestled in comfortable chairs and out came a proud crowd whose presence proved to curious and confused onlookers that their support for live theatre was strong and very much alive.
Locations included The Lieder’s foyer, the Reject Shop parking lot illuminated by car lights, outside the Lilac Cinema, in the Belmore Park Rotunda, outside the gates of Goulburn Local Court and in the Goulburn Club garden.
Performed amongst the backdrop of historical buildings and spaces, audiences were able to fully participate with the scenes.
Stand out performances could be seen in the opening act with the three witches from Macbeth, played by Erin Williams, Fiona Churchill and Christine Bentley. The compilation of smoke, lighting and superb make up added to the gruesome and eerie magic of the legendary trio.
Alfie and Alecia Walker as Othello and Desdemona were striking, as Othello killed Desdemona in a jealous rage engulfing the space in front of the cinema with passion and betrayal.
The Mechanicals, the play within A Midsummer Night’s Dream, supported by Chrisjohn Hancock, Steve Routley, Harrison Treble, Amanda Weeks, Shane Daly and Jenifer Lamb was Shakespeare’s comedy at its best.
Awkward and random, staged yet strategic, the true father of comedy could be most easily traced in the skit proving that this style of entertainment is far from dead.
An unexpected incorporation of fire heightened the Battle of Argincourt in Henry V and captured the mood for Lady Macbeth’s monologue in the alley.
Beyond the subtle stop-start journey between the audience and actors, and the unclear progression of a general narrative between the different acts, the show was enticing.
Nervous about the receptiveness of his ambition, director Mr Hancock said he was thrilled by the performances of the night and hopes to continue Shakespeare on the Run as a whole weekend.
Ten scenes were added to this year’s performance, in comparison to the inaugural show last year.