A Noble Romp with Sex Confusion — TWO NOBLE KINSMEN by HSF

I arrived super last-minute to see Thursday night’s preview of Hawaii Shakesfest’s second show of the season, Two Noble Kinsmen, and so I actually did take the worst seat in the house, as far as I could tell—way in the corner of a semicircle stage configuration. But I very quickly realized that it didn't matter. I was engaged, and in such an intimate theatre, you don’t miss much from any point of view. There were even moments when I wanted to look away (from two nearly naked, sweaty noble kinsmen chained and touching…tenderly?) but it was impossible to avoid the platformed spectacle, even from my straining corner chair. 

This play, one of the lesser performed “late plays” co-written by Shakespeare and Fletcher, kind of has a bad rep among most Bard aficionados. Well here’s what I say: It’s funny, ridiculous, and also pretty relevant. So what’s this play all about? Basically, two “bros” both fall for the same girl and go from sworn BFFs to sworn enemies in a matter of seconds. They happen to be in jail at the time, and the subplot involves the jailer’s daughter who sets one of them free in the hope he will then return the favor: bed her and fall in love with her. Oh yeah, and Emilia, the girl they both want, isn't into guys, a point made blatantly obvious in this production. It’s a bit of a romp, especially in the hands of director Harry Wong III, with more than a brothel’s share of lewd and lascivious jokes and gestures, while the fluid staging reminds me why I love to attend live theatre. You could never transfer Wong's production to film, nor would you even want to—it has to be live. 

The majority of the characters (including trees) are played by just three actors—Jaime Bradner, Jasson Empleo, and Kaitlin Souza—what Wong calls his batterie. According to the preshow announcement, there were supposed to be others, but they apparently bailed. Good riddance, I say, because these three delightfully excelled at keeping the action flowing. I didn't always know who they were supposed to be, but I also didn't care. I knew just enough, and since they played so many parts (over thirty between them) I knew to just go with it, letting the story tell itself. I can't stress enough how much I liked this convention. I’ve seen many shows with a large group of actors each playing one or two small character parts that were ten times more confusing, because in that case, the audience feels compelled to try and figure everyone out. In this three-part batterie staging, I knew which characters to “figure out” and when to just enjoy the show. 

The kinsmen, played by Ryan Sutherlan and Nick Atiburcio, are very well matched. Sutherlan’s physicality aids his mostly comedic portrayal of Arcite right up until the fantastic end. Atiburcio’s Palamon has the more brooding nature of the two, neither quite so nimble nor fortunate, until the final twist of fate. The irony of their relationship is captured perfectly by both as they alternate between gentle caressing and slicing one another to bits. 

The show stealer, for me, was Jailer's Daughter (yes, that's her name) played by Katherine Aumer. She is at once hilarious and very likeable, inspiring sympathy while being wonderful to watch. Her journey almost overtakes the main plot at points, especially because we are drawn into her mind and see her fantasies come to life on the stage. There are song and dance numbers that reminded me of the film Dancer in the Dark; if you haven't seen that film, I highly recommend it, though it is pure tragedy, without the irony and humor of Noble Kinsmen. Aumer becomes completely her character in a way that few actors can usually achieve with such precision and mastery. 

Emilia, played by Erin Chung, ends up with one of the kinsmen, though I won't tell you which or how. As a girl who vows in the beginning that she'll never fall for a man, she jumps right quick to plead for the lives of these two. I was never really certain, watching Chung, whether Emilia had actually changed her mind or whether she just had a big heart and didn't want to see two nice boys lose their lives. Overall, there is a lot of sex confusion in her family, with her brother Theseus (Cris Cordio) cheerfully mistaking his right hand man—and maybe left, too—Pirithous (Jerry Altwies) for his wife Hippolyta (Leigh A. Sholler), who was ever quick to step into her rightful place as the woman of his heart. 

The story, the plot, the characters, the themes, and the questions Two Noble Kinsmen raises all spring from humanity’s core concerns and motivations (after food and shelter): love, sex, kinship, desire, honor, and jealousy. Really, what else is there? This production captured the spirit of the play for me, tackling all these themes with humor, irreverence, and irony, which distances the audience from the tragedy and folly of humankind, but certainly doesn’t deny or ignore it. It’s not straightforward comedy or tragedy; it’s a whole other beast. Maybe this kind of story's not for everyone, but I sure as heck enjoyed myself. I say give it a chance and you probably will too.

For more info, go to the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival website, or the Facebook event page.

*Photo stolen from Katherine Aumer's album Mobile Uploads on Facebook.

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