‘Comedy of Errors’ from across the Pond
Founded under the patronage of Dame Judi Dench nearly 20 years ago, the Cambridge American Stage Tour (CAST) has delighted audiences with witty adaptations of William Shakespeare’s plays every September all along the East Coast.
The traveling troupe of talented university students will bring Rappahannock County one performance only of “The Comedy of Errors” on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 3 p.m.
The students, all in their early 20s, spend the summer in hours of rehearsal, as well as designing and building a set that can travel from the UK to the US as compactly and conveniently as possible. The set must be lightweight and portable to easily fit into three minivans along with the 17 passengers and their personal gear, and it must be durable enough to survive assembly and disassembly for performances from Florida to New England. Set materials in the past have included lightweight items such as silk fabric, PVC pipe, foam, string lights, etc. often fashioned in skillfully original ways.
The CAST experience is an opportunity offered to Cambridge University students by audition. Once a member of the ensemble, they’re immersed in months of rehearsal, planning, promoting, and
building. A technical strategy must be devised for professional quality lighting and sound that allows for the varied equipment the company will encounter at the many theater venues along the tour. The educational officer needs to prepare outreach programs and workshops that CAST offers to schools, including our very own Rappahannock High School students, some of whom will experience a command performance and Q&A session this Friday at Little Washington Theatre.
CAST’s modern reworkings of Shakespeare are loads of fun. For instance, the year they did an ‘80s take on “The Taming of the Shrew” with a nod to the “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” presenting an absurd and clever variation which drew boisterous laughter from the unsuspecting audience.
It will be fascinating to see what merriment this year’s cast and crew, under the direction of Jess Murdoch, has in store for Little Washington Theatre patrons this weekend. To learn more about “The Comedy of Errors” and take part in the revelry, visit LittleWashingtonTheatre.com