Bard Wars: Hope Renew’d

This very different play, both in staging and storyline, was finally found deep in Da Vinci’s vault beyond countless locks and traps – Shakespeare’s lost manuscript.

Our young farm boy must brave the unknown, rescue a princess and take revenge on the Emperor’s right hand, the Black Knight, who killed his father. How is that for a very different story line? Many characters’ names including Obi – Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Hans Solo, Chewbacca and Darth Vader are straight out of Star Wars, with the production opening on May the 4^{th (be with you)}, Star Wars day. This combination of a Shakespearean style script and characters from a famous science fiction movie made for a fascinating night at the theatre.

John Grey showed himself to be very talented across all aspects of theatre, as he wrote the play, designed the set, shared direction and had the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. His acting performance was very good, as was the overall direction. This was a free-flowing production on an open stage, as per Shakespeare’s time. In a generally a solid cast, standouts included eye catching performances from Eleni Koutsoukia as Artoo and Natasha McDonald as Princess Leia. Ben Postle as Hans Solo, Tamzen Hunter as Chewbacca and Dominic Tennison as Darth Vader all added to the high standard of the overall cast.

The concept of the unusual plot line worked. I need to have another read of my plays by Shakespeare plays – maybe I lost one too.  Well done to all involved. Very much worth a visit to see for yourself.

William Davies

Photographer: Kris Anderson