Breaking the Shakespeare Code

See it if you like stories abt theater (actor/director). Some refs to Shksp; it helps to know the plays/chars, but isn't necessary. Barebones prodn.

Don't see it if you want a well-paced, insightful script w/people interacting as IRL. Or want strg staging (constant movemt annoys) or modulated acting.

Also I went with high hopes based on S-S reviews, but there was too little WS (what was included was repetitive and unsatisfying) and too much artificial dialogue. The actors are too loud for the small space and the constant circling annoys.... Read more Read less

See it if Acting teacher withholds approval & pushes student to improve. Is their chemistry just fodder for their work, or is it something more?

Don't see it if You won't like trying to follow a feedback loop between the rehearsal room & the real world. Dialog muddled by poor acoustics.

Also Reminded me of a platonic girlfriend who I see once every 5 years for an intense visit. An infrequent relationship can be powerful.... Read more Read less

See it if you are familiar with Shakespeare's female characters and words and their role in this tense director-actor relationship over 16 years.

Don't see it if you aren't familiar with Bard's female characters and want a full grasp of the dialogue, also difficult due to acoustics, lights in eyes.

See it if you are interested in the way actors approach roles. Less about Shakespeare more about actors choices based on life experiences.

Don't see it if you have hearing issues. The actors are in constant motion to accommodate 360 degree seating so often speak with their backs to some seats

See it if Acting coach challenges girl to perform Shakespeare. She embodies the roles impacting him. After 16 years can they break roles and be real?

Don't see it if You don’t have to know Shakespeare’s characters, but it helps. Play is set in a rehearsal space and performed in one.

Also Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s youngest and most innocent leading ladies.
Celia, a young girl, disguises herself and runs away to live in the forest.
Portia, wife of Brutus, is one of the strongest women in the canon. She stands up to Brutus who killed Caesar and stabs herself in the leg to prove she is the equal of any man.
Hotspur (Henry Percy) would rather make war than make love to his wife Lady Percy.
Mistress Quickly, an innkeeper, has many interactions with Falstaff, but never hooks up with him.
Imogen is the virtuous wife of her exiled husband. Iachimo, who fails to seduce her, uncovers her sleeping body to discover a secret mark.... Read more Read less

See it if Actors parse Shakespeare in rehearsal. What’s not to like? Illuminating bits on what makes a script work as performance vs. literature.

Don't see it if Characters not as sadistic & exploitive as I assumed they’d be from the description. That could be seen as a shortcoming even though...

Also ...I personally enjoyed the show more for it. This is fun! And a little wounding. The way creative efforts often are. A sort of fantasy of how we hope classical scenes develop in the best conditions by diligent actors.

I wasn’t especially looking forward to another lurid student-teacher affair (see the “Everybody loves a scandal” tagline). Not everybody actually does. But the basis of the relationship is so technical—and the refinement of those techniques is what makes the story rewarding.... Read more Read less

See it if interested in theater, acting, student/teacher ever changing dynamics, clever dialogue & have some knowledge of Shakespeare's​ characters.

Don't see it if do not like black box theater in the round. Sometimes a strain to understand dialogue due to poor acoustics in theater( not fault of actors)

See it if you want to see a brilliantly written piece with extraordinary acting.

Don't see it if you're triggered by mentee/mentor relationships

Also Miranda Jonte's Anna wonderfully switches from emotional devoid actress to fully invested, brilliant Shakespearean actress as Tim Weinert's pushes the buttons of her emotions.

Weinert's Curt plays the "fool" to perfection.

The ending, after looking predictable, comes as an amazing ambiguous conclusion.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy Shakespeare; you like conversations in which people quote literary works; you want to see some good acting.

Don't see it if you dislike minimalist sets; dislike Shakespeare; dislike "talky" shows.

See it if You're looking for a two hander that will keep you guessing about the characters' motivations; you're a Shakespeare buff; you like surprises

Don't see it if You aren't willing to do the work to find the layers of meaning; you don't want a Shakespeare lesson through a contemporary lens

Also Every time I thought I had this piece pegged, it surprised me. Every time I started to get annoyed or frustrated with the text or the performances, something subverted my expectations. I was really impressed with this show. Be forewarned that there's little sound insulation from adjacent studios, which can be incredibly distraction. This is a dense text that requires diligence on the part of the audience and full commitment on the part of the actors. They delivered. I hope you will, too.... Read more Read less

See it if You're up for a play about, and the experience of, theatrical scene work, two terrific actors acing this subtle, deeply layered script.

Don't see it if You've no interest in Shakespeare, actors or the miracle that live theatre is when it works, magically transforming mere words to substance.

See it if Well, I seem to be in the minority but I found all of this sturm und drang really boring and relentless.

Don't see it if Characters did not seem real to me at all and I couldn't buy the teacher's attraction to student. Show offy talky play w/no let up .

Also Am I the only one who is going to mention the elephant in the room - that being that the actress is much too old for the role. She seems to be at least 40, playing a character who ranges from 18 - 34 and is supposedly 10 years younger than her costar who looks to be about 10 years younger than her. I had a problem with that and also didn't find her character at all appealing and therefore couldn't accept the outcome.... Read more Read less

See it if Strong performances, interesting use of Shakespeare to delineate their relationship.

Don't see it if Noise outside black box is distracting. Deeper knowledge of Shakespeare would help. Had to imagine the ages of the characters without change

See it if A teacher vs. student years long battle with sublimated sexual attraction beneath all the shouting and arguing--if this sounds good--OK.

Don't see it if Like me, you find both of these characters (very well acted by the way) so irritating and annoying that you can't wait for it to be over.

See it if If you are interested in power struggles between the genders, if you know and love Shakespeare

Don't see it if you are easily confused, you want light entertainment,

Also This is crackling good entertainment and thought-provoking. But it is performed in the round so that much of the clever dialogue gets lost when the actors are facing away from you. I probably would have rated it much higher if I could have heard the dialogue.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy exploration of human emotions where a student-teacher relationship is explored through scene work involving Shakespeare characters

Don't see it if uncomfortable with Shakespearian language, not interested in power and gender issues , don't like talky "meta" theater or minimal production

Also This was one of the best acted, most interesting and complex plays I have seen in a long time. Some might find it pretentious, but I really believed in the character's attempts to find themselves and experience true relationship as well as being at the top of their acting and directing games.. Had seen Hadestown the night before and found this small play with almost no production elements to be the more compelling and involving experience. Be prepared to sit in the round in a black box theater where there is insufficient insulation from work going on in adjacent studios. This and the material itself demands concentration and commitment on your part, but the effort is rewarding and the brilliant writing, acting and direction make this easier than one might think. Highly recommended.... Read more Read less

See it if Want to get an idea about the rehearsing routine;what teacher can do to make student actor to express herself on stage in Shakespeare's play

Don't see it if Not the best room with average acoustic and regular chairs. Reciting of several pieces of Shakespeare play makes you uncomfortable

Also Cast is amazing, good chemistry. Need more viewers!!! The play itself shows that people can waste their chances to be together and happy when pretending to be what they are not. The fortune gave two people at least three chances for happiness but even the end is not so happy and we do not know if Curt and Anna will finally overcome their fears and stay in partnership.... Read more Read less

See it if A smart deconstruction work of Shakespeare’s words; great chemistry between the duo; affective minimal staging; sincere/insightful talkback

Don't see it if Shakespeare’s words are too foreign; you mind all-around studio space with 1 row of chairs each side (super intimate with the actors);

See it if you like a well written play with great dialogue, well performed. An intense play about acting and the relationship of students and teachers

Don't see it if if you don't like plays about acting or two person black box plays about long relationships that change in dynamics over time.

Also I thought this was a fantastic play, the dialogue was sharp and interesting and I liked how it was always unclear what was a performance and what was real. I particularly liked the way the dynamics between the characters changed with the initial strength of the older character in the middle him being laid low and her at a peak and the later them both as adults who've failed and loved and lost and succeeded.... Read more Read less

See it if A small wonder of a show. A thrill of verbal of theatrical interplay. Go if you like edgy works.

Don't see it if Intimate settings might bother you.

See it if you like good drama well performed.

Don't see it if you have an aversion to serious plays.

See it if You will enjoy a play that plays with Shakespeare's lines as it traces the entwining of a student and her theater coach over the decades.

Don't see it if You will not enjoy a two-person performance in a black-box theater and have no interest in seeing an engaging play that engages Shakespeare.

See it if You enjoy whip-smart writing, and intense performances.

Don't see it if You've never seen a Shakespeare play.