Historical Drama Unfolds Onstage With EQUIVOCATION By The Village Players of Hatboro

The Village Players of Hatboro, a distinguished community theater in its 76th season, will present Equivocation, a rousing theatrical experience set to captivate audiences with its compelling storyline and stellar performances.

Equivocation, written by Bill Cain, provides a plausible alternative story about the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 England. Shakespeare - Shag, as he is called - is approached by Robert Cecil, Secretary of State to King James I, to write a play about the plot. Without an actual explosion or details from the conspirators, however, there just isn't the necessary dramatic tension to create a satisfying drama. Shag, in his own act of equivocation (and rebellion) switches from Cecil's play to Macbeth to both indirectly excoriate the King's enemies and directly praise his legitimacy.

The author uses Equivocation as historiographic metatheatre - a self-aware, postmodern narrative that explores moral and religious conflicts while doubling as a love letter to the Bard, to acting, to playwrighting, and to theater.

Performances run March (2024) 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23 at 8PM and 10, 17 at 2PM at The Village Players of Hatboro (401 Jefferson Ave. Hatboro, PA 19040). Tickets are available for purchase online at the button below or at the door 30 minutes prior to curtain.

Under the visionary direction of Ashley Lora-Lee, the talented cast and crew of Equivocation have created a rich reflection of how theater artists strive to activate their performances with depth and nuance in service to the story. Lora-Lee shares, "As a lover of all things Shakespeare, I was intrigued by the idea of a modern-ish show about the writer and his plays. The play's story tells about the chimerical nature of truth and the cyclical way that art imitates life, about the zeal among actors and the passion among writers, about the struggle for connection. It is ambitious, intelligent, and engaging."

The cast of Equivocation features a lineup of seasoned actors that promise to deliver powerful and memorable portrayals that will linger in the hearts of the audience long after the curtain falls. As at Shakespeare's Globe theater, several actors play multiple roles, melting into and out of characters of King Lear, Macbeth, and The True History of the Gunpowder Plot, sometimes instantaneously.

The Village Players of Hatboro

Since our founding in April of 1947, The Village Players of Hatboro has sought to present dramatic and similar creative works to the world to engage and develop interest in drama as a vehicle of education as well as entertainment.

For more information, visit https://www.thevillageplayers.com/

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