A FUSION of cabaret and catwalk have inspired a new take on a popular Shakespeare poem.
Playbox Theatre’s Shakespeare Young Company will be putting on Venus and Adonis at The Dream Factory in Warwick.
The theatre group was created in 2006 to enable young people to gain confidence and performance opportunity in Shakespeare and his contemporaries. From the beginning, inspired by Jan Kott’s seminal book, Shakespeare Our Contemporary, the company has presented work across a wide variety of spaces, from outdoor gardens to the depths of a medieval crypt.
Venus and Adonis will be presented in new theatre space The Cube – an in-the-round structure reflecting the ambiance of a fashion show catwalk, alongside a cabaret setting.
The poem was written by Shakespeare during the theatre closures in 1590s. Unable to play on the open arenas of London, the playwright created an original work taking the story of love-obsessed Venus, with reluctant Adonis from Ovid’s Metamorphosis. This has become the source of much drama, poetry and art in the Renaissance.
Dedicated to his patron, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl Of Southampton, the poem, with its erotic content, became a huge cult read and sold many copies.
Shakespeare Young Company will take Venus and Adonis as a starting point for a collage of text, poetry, music, song and dance, as well as a little table magic, original themed mocktails and pizza for the audience.
Performances are on Saturday April 20 and Sunday April 21.
To book tickets visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/playboxtheatre/e-bkvoeg
