Think of EclecticPond’s production of 10×10 as a 33 rpm album of Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits played at 78 rpm (if you don’t know what albums or rpms are, go ask your parents). Even if you’re not familiar with the plays, you’ll get the gist of the plots and major themes in 10×10, and laugh a lot in the process. Contrary to what many people think about Shakespeare’s works, he was the Steven Spielberg of Elizabethan theatre, writing plays with lots of action and wit to pull in a paying audience (as part owner of the theatre, he had a vested interest in getting butts in seats). After his death in 1616, his reputation grew, and now is widely recognized as one of the greatest writers in the English language. 10×10 celebrates many of his greatest plays.
With a cast of 34 actors who have performed in various EclecticPond performances over the past year or so, keeping things moving along at a healthy pace. Othello, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth (the Scottish Play), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet, plus Henry V and Richard III were all given the 10 minute (more or less) treatment.
Expect some pop culture references, with characters playing “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock” and a boxing ring for Beatrice and Benedick’s verbal sparring in Much Ado About Nothing. Julius Caesar, with the intense and stabby Cassius (Zack Joyce) and hero-worshiping Antony (Mike Hosp), is made even brighter by the appearance of Spencer Hahn as Octavius. Spencer is a theatre super-fan of EclecticPond’s, and is pitch perfect in his delivery of his lines as the soon-to-be Augustus Caesar.
EclecticPond has a gift for making Shakespeare accessible to the average person, thanks to the creative direction of Tom and Catherine Cardwell, and a crack team of actors and technicians. If you’re not a Shakespeare “nerd,” don’t worry — you’ll find lots of laughs, and you might be intrigued enough to explore the Bard’s work in greater detail.
In 2014, the company will be celebrating Shakespeare’s 450th birthday with several new productions. EclecticPond will be producing Comedy of Errors Feb. 28. In April, the Young Shakespeareans Project will be held April 11-26, and this summer, a very ambitious cycle of eight of the history plays (the Henry plays, Richard II and Richard III) will be produced, featuring eight actors, in eight plays, in eight hours.
Shows continue Jan. 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 5 at 5:30. Tickets are $10 and available on Brown Paper Tickets online. The plays are at the Irvington Lodge, 5515 E. Washington St.