The McMaster Thespian Company's production showcases the timeless appeal of classical theatre
By: Shelby Foster, Arts and Culture Contributor
"To be, or not to be, that is the question." But why our campus and why now? That's my question.
With the McMaster Thespian Company having wrapped up their fall production of Macbeth and beginning production for yet another of Shakespeare's plays, one has to ask themselves, why does Shakespeare have the McMaster theatre community in such a chokehold?
To get to the bottom of this question, I sat down with some of the cast and crew of MTC's Macbeth to talk about the production and understand what it means to be engaging with Shakespearian classics as modern-day students.
According to the UK National Theatre in their 2024 Macbeth deep dive, the timelessness of Shakespeare has been accredited to his appeal to themes such as love, death, ambition, power, fate and free will —experiences that transcend time.
As Annika Venkatesh, director of MTC's Macbeth, put it, "The themes are relevant because the themes are human." In addition to Shakespeare's heart-string-plucking work, his works are in the public domain, which has led to further opportunities for creatives to engage with them beyond reading the original works themselves, including but not limited to putting on university productions.
"Shakespeare is so infused in our culture already and in ways we don't even understand; we enjoy She's The Man, Lion King, 10 Things I Hate About You. Understanding the source material and letting ourselves enjoy and empathize with it are definitely things that we can strive to do through our theatre," said Venkatesh.
Understanding the source material and letting ourselves enjoy and empathize with it are definitely things that we can strive to do through our theatre.
Annika Venkatesh, Director of Macbeth
McMaster Thespian Company
As highlighted by Venkatesh, Shakespeare's impact on Western culture is undeniable, but his plays take center stage on a much more personal level for those directly involved with theatre.
"I remember being 15, reading Macbeth and I thought, "This was my dream character"," said Maya Psaris, a first-year PhD student who played Lady Macbeth in MTC's production. Through MTC, Psaris was enabled to pursue all of her passions by having classical theatre accessible on campus.
"I have a split brain in terms of my passions. I love research, psychology and child development . . . my other passions are acting and theatre," Psaris explained. "Being able to balance both of those two is really important to me."
When asked how their involvement with the MTC interacts with their studies, here is what one of Psaris' castmates had to say.
"It's definitely helpful," said Abbey Hanson, Lennox actress and third-year English and theatre student. "I feel like I have a better understanding of reading Shakespeare and understanding what's going on . . . also any performing experience helps with being in theatre, building up the resume, learning new things, learning different directing techniques that you will experience."
Hanson suggested that involving yourself with MTC as an English or theatre student may help in furthering your career development in direct ways. Venkatesh, alongside directing Macbeth, is a third-year nursing student and argued that the importance of engaging with theatre spans beyond your field of study.
"There's a lot more overlap between theatre and any other field of study than people expect there to be," said Venkatesh. "I go to clinical placements or to work; I go to the hospital . . . so I can talk with them [patients, colleagues] about books, plays, music and theatre. Especially with Shakespeare, everyone has some kind of story. Whether it's just them hating it in high school or talking about going to Stratford every year."
There's a lot more overlap between theatre and any other field of study than people expect there to be.
Annika Venkatesh, Director of Macbeth
McMaster Thespian Company
These unique individuals, all from different backgrounds, are united by one thing in common: the humanity that theatre highlights.
If you want to experience Shakespeare for yourself, MTC is currently preparing for their winter show, Twelfth Night. You can get in on the action by following MTC on Instagram to watch the production process and get the inside scoop. Keep an eye out for performance date announcements, read the play for yourself and, of course, consider seeing the show!
Theatre Aquarius celebrated its fiftieth anniversary as an important theatrical and cultural space in the Hamilton community
On Sept. 27, Theatre Aquarius officially began its fiftieth season, kicking it off with a performance of Norm Foster’s Jonas and Barry in the Home.
Theatre Aquarius was founded in 1973 under the leadership of Peter Mandia, the founding artistic director of the theatre. Until 1991, Theatre Aquarius primarily performed at the Studio Theatre at Hamilton Place, and it did not have a theatre centre of its own. However, in 1991, various donors facilitated the building of the Dofasco Centre for the Arts, Theatre Aquarius’s own theatre centre.
I was lucky enough to catch a performance of Jonas and Barry in the Home during its two-and-a-half week run at Theatre Aquarius, and I could understand why it was chosen to start off such a milestone season for the theatre. A three-actor performance detailing a friendship between two men in a senior’s home, I found Jonas and Barry in the Home to be full of heart, joy and nostalgia.
While Jonas and Barry in the Home is no longer showing at Theatre Aquarius, there will be many more shows to watch throughout the 2023-2024 season. Jake Epstein’s Boy Falls from the Sky is slated to appear next at the theatre, opening on Oct. 25. Detailing Epstein’s journey in theatre, Boy Falls from the Sky is a ninety-minute solo performance by Epstein himself.
“Boy Falls from the Sky is a story for anyone who’s ever tried to go after their dreams,” says the description on Theatre Aquarius' website.
The remainder of Theatre Aquarius’s season will showcase Pollyanna: The Musical, Uncle Vanya, Shirley Valentine and Beautiful Scars.
Along with putting on theatrical productions for the community to enjoy, Theatre Aquarius has made a number of other meaningful artistic contributions over the last fifty years. For example, in 1976, Theatre Aquarius launched their theatre school. Theatre school programs, such as acting classes and musical theatre classes, are still offered by Theatre Aquarius today.
“The program has run continuously, providing thousands of young people throughout the region with a chance to participate in the theatre arts at a high level, launching many to professional careers in the arts and providing many more with new confidence that helped them reach their dreams, and helping to instill a lifelong love of theatre,” reads the Theatre Aquarius website.
Along with longstanding community contributions such as this one, Theatre Aquarius has also made newer contributions to the community, such as their recently launched National Centre for New Musicals. This program is designed to support Canadian writers who are working on new musicals, and it is currently accepting applications until Dec. 15.
Take Shelter
Directed by: Jeff Nichols
Starring: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain
4 out of 5 stars
Myles Herod
Entertainment Editor
There can be something positively terrifying about a performance that makes you tense. What Michael Shannon miraculously achieves in Take Shelter goes beyond that, and into embodiment.
With courage, talent and vulnerability, he takes the viewer into the mind of an early-onset schizophrenic, revealing a man torn between apocalyptic premonitions and his relationships with family and friends.
The movie opens on Curtis (Shannon), a construction worker with growing concerns about the clouds and greasy rain that persistently loom over his land. Inside his household we enter domestic normality, where his loving wife, Samantha (Jessica Chastain), attentively upholds family breakfasts and points of discussion. Together they raise their deaf preschooler in what feels like parental conviction and not plot contrivance.
Early in Take Shelter, we become familiar with Curtis’ work routine, as well as his loyal co-worker, Dewart (Sean Whigham). Similarly, Samantha’s outside life is explored, as she divides her time between entrepreneurial interests and her daughter’s sign language classes.
The film shifts though, and soon Curtis begins suffering from night terrors that consume his consciousness. The dreams retain similar motifs of unruly storms that turn familiar faces into murderous souls. In one instance, a vicious nightmare involving the beloved family dog leaves Curtis with a mysteriously sore arm and distrust towards the canine.
When his visions cease to curtail and begin to extend into real life delusions, the separation between prophecy and lunacy symbolically merge with the construction of a backyard storm shelter.
The film is so delicate, so entrenched in Curtis’ intensity that you hold your breath as his social sphere starts breaking away. Events of grave consequence take effect and soon the heart of the film splits into two unsettling realisms: the whispering gossip of his sanity, and the confidence of his own doom’s day suspicions.
Michael Shannon inhabits his extraordinary performance with a scary charisma that cannot be described, but observed. He knows he has a problem. He knows he needs help. When the story reveals a family history of mental illness, he seeks counseling. Hopelessly, the sessions amount to no more than empty compassion and textbook rhetoric, leaving Curtis, and us, in a state of despondency.
The movie excels through its braveness, which requires our empathy as we interpret the decisions made. Why does Curtis insist on building something so absurd at the risk of losing everything? How the film balances dream logic with the disintegration of relationships, marriage and finances is one of its great strengths.
It is precisely the brand of drama that defines Take Shelter, investing heavily in emotional paranoia, as well as post- 9/11 angst and uncertainty.
For a picture of such power, it is refreshing to see the restraint that director Jeff Nichols brings to the narrative. Wisely, he avoids religious aspects of Curtis’ apocalypse and keeps it very close to life, making forces of nature vengeful and destructive right until the very end.
Many films have addressed the plight of mental health, but few rarely seem to live them out. This one does it with a quiet fearlessness that has you thinking days afterwards.