SOUTHERN EDGE ARTS and PERTH INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL - GREAT SOUTHERN present A TASTE GREAT SOUTHERN EVENT
CAFE SHAKESPEARE
Devised and performed by Members of Southern Edge Arts
Directed by Simon Clarke
Designed by Amanda Clarke
Visit Café Shakespeare, a dinner & show event for lovers of excellent food, inspired prose & vibrant performance… Imagine Hamlet wearing his cap backwards and reciting “To be or not to be?” to an Eminem backing track. Or Romeo and Juliet meeting for the first time online: “Romeo is now friends with Juliet Capulet”, Romeo “is no longer listed as single”. “All the world’s a stage” Shakespeare mused, never dreaming how literally Bollywood would take him.
Welcome to Café Shakespeare - where the atmosphere is 400 years old.
Fire-casters, jugglers, stilt walkers, acrobats, actors, musicians, food and festivities make up the mix for this relaxed dinner and show event. While some performers tumble and roll or bend over backwards to entertain, others fuse the athleticism and poetry of Shakespeare’s language with their own cultural references, brilliance and wit. Some even manage both at the same time.
Southern Edge Arts, a youth performance company, is proud to present Café Shakespeare with the Perth International Arts Festival – Great Southern and as a Taste Southern event.
20th & 21st February 2009 | Southern Edge Arts
77 on Sanford, Albany | 6:30pm for a 7pm start
$60 Adult/$35 under 12 | Includes 3 course feast by Kookas Catering
An Alcohol Free Event
27th February 2009 | Kendenup Lodge & Cottages
217 Moorilup Road, Kendenup | 6:30pm for a 7pm start
$80 | Includes 3 course feast and drink upon arrival - cash bar available
1st March 2009 | Forest Hill Winery Restaurant
Cnr Myers Rd & South Coast Hwy, Denmark
6:30pm for a 7pm start | $125
Includes 4 course degustation matched with Forest Hill Wines
TICKETS AT ALBANY TOWN HALL BOX OFFICE - 9844 2222 or http://www.albanytownhall.com.au
Cafe Shakespeare was an overwhelming success. Initially, I had concerns that the bar had been set too high for the young actors and that they wouldn’t be able to manage the improvisational aspects of the show as well as overcome the inherent difficulties of attempting Shakespeare, let alone appropriating his text. My anxiety was needless and after the performances (over two weekends) the response was supportive and high praise.
Each show drew new confidence from the performers as they matched up to the risks taken during improvisations and their mastery of the Shakespearean language soared as a result. As one proud mother sang of her daughter, “I think an actor was born tonight!” and the same can be said of all the other performers, young and old, experienced or not, withdrawn or other. For me this encapsulates the greatest outcome of the production.
It was, however, only one of many outcomes. Another outcome was the successful combination of dinner and a show. This format is distinctive and presented opportunities for both us as the entertainment provider and the other companies that provided the fare.
We had enormous support from local business and I would like to take this opportunity to thank, in particular, Fletchers International, Kooka’s Catering, Taste Great Southern, Kendenup Lodge and Cottages and Forest Hill Winery.
The first two performances (February 20th and 21st) were hosted at our venue 77@Sanford and was supported by Fletchers International and Kooka’s Catering. It was a sumptuous event, innovation in terms of the partnerships that were created as well as the performance itself.
The third performance (February 27th) was held at Kendenup Lodge and Cottages, who also prepared the food. This show and the next were Taste Great Southern events and highlighted the produce of the region. Our final performance (March 1st) was at Forest Hill Winery, where a finely crafted evening played itself out and the hospitality, food and performance harmonised almost flawlessly – Our thanks to Silus and Jo.
Taking the show to these different venues had many positive outcomes, including introducing us to new audiences and advancing our profile within the region. This opportunity was facilitated and supported by the Great Southern Development Commission and the Perth International Arts Festival – Great Southern.
CAST
Emily Boegheim, Catherine Bonney, Simon Clarke, Beth Commons, Jodi Doyle, Sophia Gilet, Cassie Haselhurst, Hugh Manning, Shelly McLennan, Beth O’Neil, Peron Pearse, Emily Shale, Nicole Spanbroek, Jade Waters, Simone Wilson
CREW
Simon Clarke - Director
Amanda Clarke - Set and Costume Design
David Nile - Lighting Design and Production
VOLUNTEERS
Paula Gilet, Melissa Vernon, Penni Jongen-Sutton, Teresa Hughes, Ellie Glen, Charlotte McInnes
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