Dmitry Shcherbina, as Malvolio, and Dmitry Duzhev as Sir Andrew Aguecheek photo by Vladimir Vyatkin All-Male Company of Russia’s Leading Actors Performs  Shakespeare’s TWELFTH NIGHT A Chicago Shakespeare Theater World’s Stage Presentation    Staged by British Theater Artist Declan Donnellan review by Ed Vincent I was thrilled to see a production of Shakespeare coming in Russian, and wondering how I could tell or note Olde English spoken in Russian, not to worry it's all contemporary Russian. I often measure a Shakespearean performance by the oration displayed but since I am far from fluent in Russian I must direct my attention elsewhere.  Fortunately for me the theatrics, the emotive expressions, walk, portrayal, and comical irony on the stage each moment of performance had me delighted with pure art and contrasting realities.  The play by Shakespeare has been rewritten in the manor that "Romeo and Juliet" became "West Side Story", but loaded with tons of risqué double entendre. If you were not raised in a Russian town of some size you will miss many of the verbal jokes, but thankfully there is plenty of visual humor and irony steeped upon even more irony.  Shakespeare's plays in his time were all performed by all male actors, but the males who played the female roles did what they could to be as feminine as possible in look and manner-mostly. The Russian way of portraying females uses masculine men with stoic departure from anything feminine.  The straight faced men in the role of darlings is a visual treat for cross dressers and the regular Joe.  The play has a feel at times of a "La Cage aux Folles" hybrid with Post Stahlinist reductio ad absurdum. There are numerous levels of entertainment here on the stage of Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and if you are not a native Russian you will find the well placed English translations projected for your viewing guidance (from all angles) allowing you to easily follow the scripted action-the laughs and proclamations of humanity work well without the words. The sets are well designed minimalist with wonderful surprises in lighting and cloth origami changes from scene to scene.  Some of the hair coifing may have come from the Jerry Seinfeld crew and the Baritone voices of some from the Opera.  This is a fabulous production on all levels, great talent, and humor from all sides.  Whether you are one of the half million regional Russians in the area or an Americanski you will love this production.  Some of the Russians I spoke told me that at least three of the actors were movie and TV stars in Russia, on par with Tom Cruse or George Clooney. Get your tickets soon to this fine production. All-Male Company of Russia’s Leading Actors Performs  Shakespeare’s TWELFTH NIGHT A Chicago Shakespeare Theater World’s Stage Presentation    Staged by British Theater Artist Declan Donnellan Chicago—October 11, 2006—Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) continues its commitment to bring Chicago the world’s leading international theater artists and companies with its first production of the 2006-2007 World’s Stage Series.  An all-male acting company from Russia, in a Chekhov International Theatre Festival production, will perform William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, staged by Olivier Award-winning director Declan Donnellan, co-founder of the celebrated British theater company Cheek by Jowl, in the Courtyard Theater November 22 through December 3, 2006.  Originally produced for Moscow’s Chekhov International Theatre Festival, Donnellan’s Twelfth Night has garnered critical praise from Moscow to Sydney to London.  The International Confederation of Theatrical Associations created The Chekhov Festival in 1992 to capture and celebrate the unique spirit of Russian theater.  Since its inception, the festival has given a platform to the work of eminent directors as diverse as Robert Wilson, Giorgio Strehler and Tadashi Suzuki.  Cheek by Jowl was founded in 1981 by Declan Donnellan and designer Nick Ormerod.  The company grew rapidly throughout the 1980s, creating 18 productions in 10 years, touring across five continents and giving over 1,500 performances, including the much-lauded As You Like It (1994), which played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and starred Adrian Lester who performed at CST in Peter Brook’s Hamlet (2001). In 1994 the British Council invited the celebrated theater company to work in Russia. Since that time, Donnellan and Ormerod have enjoyed a special relationship with Russian theater, touring Cheek by Jowl productions and forming their own Russian theater ensemble under the auspices of the Russian Theatre Confederation.   Under Donnellan’s critically acclaimed direction, Twelfth Night plays at full comedic throttle from the moment the cast bursts on the stage as a makeshift bossa nova band.  The all-male cast—a trademark of Donnellan’s work—weaves Shakespeare’s effervescent tale of romantic love, mistaken identity, separated twins, and cross-gender disguise into a highly physical production conveying the madness that Shakespeare associates with passionate devotion and its complications.   Known for his crisp, unadorned direction, Declan Donnellan has staged 25 productions for Cheek by Jowl; many have toured the world.  He has also served as the associate director of the Royal National Theatre and as the first director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Academy.  In addition to receiving three Laurence Olivier Awards, Donnellan was awarded an Honorary Degree by the University of Warwick, and in 2004 he was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his work in France.  Co-producer at Cheek by Jowl, Nick Ormerod trained at Wimbledon School of Art and has designed all but one of the company’s productions. Ormerod received an Olivier Award nomination in 1992 for Designer of the Year. Twelfth Night features actors who are drawn from a roster of Russia’s finest stage, film, and television actors: Vsevolod Boldin as a sea-captain; Alexei Dadonov as Olivia; Mikhail Dementiev as Curio; Dmitry Dyuzhev as Sir Andrew Aguecheek; Alexander Feklistov as Sir Toby Belch; Ilia Ilin as Maria; Andrei Kuzitchev as Viola; Sergey Mukhin as Valentine; Dmitry Shcherbina as Malvolio; Evgeny Tsyganov as Sebastian; Vladimir Vdovichenkov as Orsino; Igor Yasulovich as Feste; and Mikhail Zhigalov as Antonio. Performed in Russian with projected English translation, Twelfth Night performances run from November 22, 2006 through December 3, 2006 with the following performance schedule: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 24, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, November 25 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, November 26, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.; Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday, November 29 at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, December 1, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, December 2, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday December 3, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.  Tickets are $50-$67. Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s World’s Stage Series continues with Amajuba: Like Doves We Rise, by South African playwright/director Yael Farber, on stage January 31, 2007 through February 11, 2007, and a co-production between CST and Italy’s Compagnia Marionettistica Carlo Colla e Figli, Marionette Macbeth, from March 13, 2007 through March 25, 2007.             For further information and to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com. ### The Sara Lee Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor of Amajuba: Like Doves We Rise. Chase is the Presenting Sponsor of Marionette Macbeth. International programming at Chicago Shakespeare Theater is supported, in part, by the Julius Frankel Foundation and The Rhoades Foundation. Artistic productions in the Jentes Family Auditorium are supported, in part, by The Trust for Courtyard Theater Programming, established by a generous leadership grant from the McCormick Tribune Foundation. American Airlines is the official airline of Chicago Shakespeare Theater. ComEd is the official lighting design sponsor of Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Dmitry Shcherbina, as Malvolio, and Dmitry Duzhev as Sir Andrew Aguecheek photo by Vladimir Vyatkin

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DIRECTIONS FROM OAK PARK

Coming from Oak Park by car, go to Lake Shore Drive and
head North from the 290 Expressway.  When you approach
the river you want to be in the far right lane and exit as soon
as you get over the river.  Navy Pier is straight ahead of you.
Drive to the Pier and go to the North side of the building for
parking.  Do not go into the first entrance, the Theater is about
two or more entrances from your first turn.  Bring your ticket
with you and have it stamped at intermission or before you leave
for a 40% reduction in parking. Three and a half hours comes
to a little more than $10.00.