TROILUS AND CRESSIDA Comes to Portland Actors Ensemble

 

Portland Actors Ensemble begin its 48th consecutive season by producing Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida for the very first time! This hilarious, poetic work will be brought to life by some of the best Shakespearean actors in Portland, Oregon and will be performed free of charge for the the entire community. Patrick Walsh, who directed Taming of the Shrew for PAE two years ago, returns to tackle another misunderstood classic.

When reached for comment about why he chose to direct Troilus and Cressida, Walsh elucidated that, "To me the climate in England when Shakespeare wrote this play in 1603 is eerily similar to America right now. Elizabeth I died in 1603. James I had taken over and the country was incredibly divided. Out of his frustration at this new government and the people that facilitated the political takeover, Shakespeare wrote this amazingly beautiful, dark, and hilarious treatise about how war corrodes everything that it touches including love, honor, and particularly memory. He responded to these changes in his world in the only way he knew how: with his art. With this production, we will be doing the same."

Troilus and Cressida is set in the 7th year of the Trojan War. It dramatizes the plot of Homer's Iliad closely, but instead of showing figures like Achilles, Hector, and Ajax in a heroic light, the play shows how ridiculous, selfish and stupid these men can be. With the addition of the character of Cressida, and her love story with Troilus, we can see how dangerous these attitudes can be towards the women who come in contact with theM. Walsh mentioned, "Shakespeare, as usual, was way ahead of his time. He understood the ideas of toxic masculinity and rape culture before there were even words for them. Cressida's interaction with these 'heroes' of antiquity isn't that different than what goes on in our city and our country on a daily basis."

Portland Actors Ensemble is thrilled to present this piece for the first time. Especially with these actors and this creative team. We hope you will join us in Lone Fir from July 7th through July 29th. This play does not get produced that often so we hope that you can join us for a once in a lifetime experience!

Starring: Jacob Camp, Alexandria Casteele, Nik Horaltes, Colton Ruscheinsky, Jim Butterfield, Landy Hite, Brian Burger, Paul Susi, Murri Lazaroff-Babin, Samson Syharath and Gary Powell.

Production team:

• Set design by Kyra Bishop

• Costume design by Alana Wight

• Sound design by Bobbi Kupfner

• Stage management by Corey McCarey

• Production management by William Gebo

• Violence design by Kristin Mun