Rock and Roll Shakespeare

By Rachael McCombs
Courier Staff

The Blackfriars Stage Company, formerly known as the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, performed in Monmouth College’s Dahl Chapel and Auditorium Tuesday, Feb. 7 and Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.

The company, part of the Shenandoah Shakespeare Comp-any of Staunton, VA, tours internationally and MC was just one stop on their “Atomic Fission” tour for 2006.

On Tuesday, the troupe performed “Return to the Forbidden Planet,” which was written by Bob Carlton and won the 1900 Olivier Award for Best Musical.

In addition, rock and roll songs were interwoven in to the play.

On Wednesday, audiences watched a performance of “Much Ado about Nothing,” one of Shakespeare’s classic comedies.

For Daniel Carlton, who played Cookie in “Return to the Forbidden Planet,” and Don Pedro in “Much Ado about Nothing,” the company’s staging conditions are what they enjoyed the most.

Carlton, who has not performed in a non-Shakespearean production since 2003, said audience participation and involvement is the “overriding production element” of the company.

Marlo Belschner, assistant professor of English and the person responsible for bringing the Blackfriars Company to MC, agreed with Carlton.

She stated the last time the company was here, which was two years ago, the audience enjoyed the participatory nature of the performances, which included audience members sitting onstage with the actors.

Even though “Return to the Forbidden Planet” was a complete re-working of Shakespeare’s original text, Belschner said it stayed closely with what Shakespeare himself did.

Audience members Brian Rowe and Chadd Kaiser enjoyed the performance and felt as if the rock and roll version really brought Shakespeare to those who may have been afraid to tackle it in the past.