Coriolanus, now playing at the Shakespeare Festival’s Thomas Theatre, offers the chance to see a lesser known play by Shakespeare adapted to contemporary language that is easier to understand.
Play On Shakespeare, an organization begun at OSF in 2015, has commissioned 39 translations or adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays to make them more accessible. I can’t say that I really support the project, but if we must have translations I suppose it’s best to try them on works that are not filled with brilliant, memorable speeches.
So, we now have the tragedy of Coriolanus in a modern verse translation by Sean San José, adapted and directed by Rosa Joshi, and co-produced with Upstart Crow Collective, which performs exclusively with female and non-binary actors.
Coriolanus was a Roman general from an ambitious family who probably lived in the 5th century BCE. He saved Rome from a serious attack, but then became disgusted by his own ungrateful people and eventually joined the enemy.
In this production, Jessika Williams as Coriolanus appears to be capable of mopping the stage with a passel of enemies. The problem is that the other actors: Rami Margron, Maria Porter, Antionette Robinson, Betsy Schwartz, Vilma Silva and Kate Wisniewski, although truly versatile, are hampered in this adaptation because they play so many brief roles without time to develop and distinguish them.
It’s possible that the original script with more actors might be the easiest way to understand and appreciate Coriolanus.
