A little touch of Willy in the night

Arthur Haereroa

The three young men who will, from tomorrow night, strut and fret for an hour-and-a-half on stage as they rollick through Shakespeare's comedies, romances, tragedies and histories in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) play a multitude of characters.

This show is a wildly irreverent attempt to condense Shakespeare into one madcap, high-speed train wreck of a show, says director Elizabeth Boyce in the programme notes.

“Our three actors have been tirelessly working since early January, fueled only by their love of theatre, their ignorance of Shakespeare and innumerable energy drinks.”

In case you don't recognise the actors in their various roles in the Evolution Theatre Company's production, here is a brief introduction.

In the 2015 East Coast Shakespeare festival, Tyler Krutz played a slightly disturbing Iachimo in a self-directed scene from Shakespeare's Cymbeline.

“I wanted the audience to feel ‘that's strange and not quite right' because they will remember that. I heard people laugh and a few ‘oohs',” Krutz told the Guide of the performance that won him the best student director category.

The Complete Works that parodies both stuffy Shakespeare academics and the plays is very different from Cymbeline, says Krutz.

“Cymbeline was a dark take on Shakespeare. This is a more lightweight, goofy and fun take on Shakespeare.”

He has enjoyed rehearsals and director Elizabeth Boyce's process but he gets his biggest kick — possibly literally — from the fight scenes.

“The moment I heard there were fight scenes in this show I was excited. I'm a bit of a gamer where there's a lot of combat involved. In The Complete Works it's tightly choreographed because there are weapons involved.”

It's just as well Krutz enjoys the physicality of the production.

“A lot of my characters get thrown around. A favourite part of the show for me is being thrown around and falling over. I do a lot of the stunt-esque parts of the play.”

Shakespeare has some interesting tales Krutz says he wants to look into.

“I want to upgrade my acting into screen acting, but Shakespeare is helping me get there. In February I'm moving to Vancouver. I recently found all my favourite shows were shot in Vancouver so I thought why not move there? I'll try acting over there.”

The appeal of performance is the ability to be part of another world and to live another life, he says.

“It's daunting with the audience there, but the daunting feeling gets you through the play and when it's over, the sensation is amazing.”