Actors' NET of Bucks County to Present EQUIVOCATION, 10/31-11/16

Shakespeare made his living writing timeless plays. But what if his life and those of his acting troupe were imperiled by his next work in progress?

That is the dilemma conjured up in playwright Bill Cain's brilliant, acclaimed play, Equivocation - being performed weekends October 31 to November 16 by ActorsNET in celebration of Shakespeare's 450th birthday year. In the show, Shakespeare (spelled "Shagspeare or "Shag" for short) is commissioned in 1606 by King James' right-hand man to write a propaganda-ridden contemporary play about the recent, ill-fated Guy Fawkes rebellion, also known as the Gunpowder Plot. The king and his court want the script to show Catholics plotted to blow up Parliament with the King in attendance. The playwright calls the accepted history of the plot into question, and sends Shag on a quest for the truth.

As the play unfolds, Shag and company realize staging the truth would defame some in the royal court and be considered treason. And the penalty for treason? Death!

"To top it off," explains ActorsNET Artistic Director and Cofounder Cheryl Doyle, who directs the production, "the King - who considered himself an expert on demons and the occult - also insists Shagspeare include witches in the play."

"How can the playwright and acting troupe survive this seemingly impossible challenge?" Ms. Doyle asks. "By ensuring the play is rife with equivocation - defined by one character as a way to "tell the truth in difficult times" by reframing to question - the Bard of Avon may live to write again."

Dale Simon of Flemington, NJ leads the six-member cast as Shagspeare, the harried playwright. George Hartpence of New Hope, PA portrays the company's aging leading actor, Richard, who

resents the younger and ambitious actor Sharpe, played by John Bergeron of Hopewell, NJ. Hartpence also plays Father Garnet, the Jesuit leader accused of masterminding the plot, and Bergeron plays King James I, who may be less silly than he seems.

Barry Abramowitz of Lawrenceville, NJ plays company member Nate, as well as Sir Robert Cecil, the king's first minister, whose endless machinations may or may not have included involvement with the Gunpowder Plot. Andrew James Gordon of West Windsor, NJ plays Armin, the troupe's comic character actor (who briefly is seen as Lady Macbeth!).

Morgan Petronis of Ewing, NJ is the lone female in the show, portraying Judith, Shagspeare's daughter, who delights in keeping a running total of all the characters her father has ever killed off in his plays. This leads her father to exclaim, "You can't count the war dead. I'm not responsible for the war dead!"

"Adding to the challenge of presenting Bill Cain's Equivocation," Ms. Doyle noted, "is the playwright's having the six members in his script portray the many characters required. Thus, some cast members assume four or more roles - and in one scene, we have an actor playing two characters in a scene with himself!"

"What may sound confusing at first is actually a rich theatrical feast," Ms. Doyle observed. "Equivocation is rich in drama, wit, suspense, mayhem, and -- to please King James -- witches!"

Recently voted the best theatre company in Bucks County in an online poll (Bucks.HappeningsMag.Com), ActorsNET presents Equivocation at the Heritage Center Theatre, 635 North Delmorr Avenue (Route 32), Morrisville, PA - near the Calhoun Street Bridge. It will be staged Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. - however, due to cast conflicts, it is not being staged on Saturday Nov. 15th. Admission is $20 for adults, $17 for seniors (age 62 and older) and $15 for WHYY card holders. Due to mature themes and language, and simulated violence, no children's tickets will be sold for this production.

For reservations and ticket information, phone 215-295-3694 or visit the ActorsNET web site at www.actorsnetbucks.org.