First Folio and actors from the London Stage celebrate Shakespeare at Notre Dame

This year marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. In commemoration of the famous poet and playwright, various events across campus invite students, faculty, and community members to experience his works and celebrate his legacy.

Notre Dame began the commemorative year by welcoming the Folger Shakespeare Library’s First Folio, the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays. Housed in the Rare Books and Special Collections gallery of Hesburgh Library, the First Folio traveling exhibit runs on campus from January 6 to 29. Notre Dame is the first of 52 stops in the exhibit’s international tour, and it is the only site in Indiana to receive it.

Scott Jackson, Executive Director of Shakespeare at Notre Dame, opened the ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 6. “The opening today of the Folger Shakespeare Library’s First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare exhibit is the launch of a year of Shakespeare-inspired events,” he said, “and it seems only too appropriate as we reflect back on the very origin of Shakespeare’s gift to the world: these 36 plays contained in the 1623 First Folio.”

University President Father John Jenkins, CSC, also spoke at the ceremony. He noted that the works contained in the First Folio have “deeply shaped our literature, our language, and our understanding of ourselves.” He later added, “The works of Shakespeare remind us … who we are and how we’re connected with one another—on this campus, beyond this campus, and with the community.”

One of the plays contained in the First Folio, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, has been brought to life on campus by the Actors From The London Stage (AFTLS). Formed in 1975 by Homer Swander, AFTLS is a national outreach program of Shakespeare at Notre Dame. The actors visit various university campuses across the country to run workshops, meet with students, and perform Shakespearean plays.

This unique display of Shakespeare’s renowned comedy on campus highlighted the five actors’ individual as well as collaborative skill, as they each played multiple characters and prepared the play together, rather than under a director.

Almost all of the actors remained onstage for the entire play, sitting on one of the chairs lined up in the rear of the stage when their character had exited the scene. This allowed them to swiftly transform from one character to another, marked by skillful changes in posture, facial expressions, and tone of voice.

Even when a scene called for more than five characters at once, the actors incorporated this dilemma into the performance, making it a humorous part of the play. For instance, in scenes with Peter Quince and the players, actress Claire Redcliffe began as Starveling the Tailor. When the others wondered where Snug the Joiner was, she morphed into him by turning around, changing the position of her hat, and hunching over, much to the relief of the other characters—and to the delight of the audience.

Actor Samuel Collings also demonstrated ease in changing from the love-struck Lysander to the powerful fairy king, Oberon. When these two characters were highlighted in back-to-back scenes, he made his transitions smooth by sitting in the chair, changing his appearance with a simple black coat, and standing again with an entirely different persona. As the fairy king, Collings showcased his acrobatic skills by tumbling across the stage throughout his speeches, displaying a unique, animalistic interpretation of the fairies.

The arrangement of the characters among the performers also provided an intriguing perspective to the story. Redcliffe and Collings played both the young, rebellious couple, Hermia and Lysander, as well as the feuding fairy queen and king, Titania and Oberon. This casting choice emphasized parallels between the two couples, contrasting two phases of romantic relationships and the unique conflicts posed by each.

Though the line of chairs comprised the only set onstage, the performance made excellent use of lighting and simple props to create the essential atmosphere of the play. For instance, dim lighting with a tree-like pattern as a backdrop suggested the forest, and a cage-like mask with long, feathery ears served as Nick Bottom’s (Chris Donnelly) transformed ass’s head. With these subtle effects, the actors drew the audience to imagine the rest of the details of the scenery, making the performance both engaging and rewarding.

The performers showcased talent in singing and dancing as well, as they harmonized in the beautiful yet haunting fairy tunes, combined with simple yet well-synchronized choreographies. For the most part, lines either spoken or sung resonated well in the auditorium even without microphones, and though some phrases were inaudible, the actors successfully delivered them with good timing and emotion.

A final performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by the Actors From The London Stage will take place on January 29 at Washington Hall at 7:30 p.m.

Other events celebrating Shakespeare this year include two January conferences and the Shakespeare festival this summer, which will include The Tempest, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, and ShakesScenes.

Sophia Buono is a sophomore PLS major and ESS minor. She is from DC, and while she does not regret missing out on shoveling snow from the storm, she does wish she could use her snowman kit (complete with a scarf and top hat) that she got for Christmas. If you’ve heard any promising weather forecasts, contact her at sbuono@nd.edu.