The Player’s Advice to Shakespeare: a performance worthy of Stratford!
Greg Kramer as The Player. Photo: Barbara Gray.
Ottawa has finally done it! The latest production of the New Theatre of Ottawa, could proudly represent us at the Stratford or Shaw Festivals and in any case, it belongs on the stage of the National Arts Centre English theatre. This has been a long time coming but the slow and steady growth of local professional theatre in this city has at last given birth to a truly great work of the stage.
Surprisingly, The Player’s Advice to Shakespeare, a monologue by Brian K. Stewart, is his first play although the author is certainly not a stranger to the stage. However, the creative team of director John Koensgen (award winning actor who did several seasons at Stratford), lighting designer Martin Conboy, who transforms light into a mysterious living substance , and Greg Kramer, the immensely talented vocal and corporeal presence that grips us for 90 minutes, have all united their talents to transform the written word into a living monument of performance excellence.