a Company of Fools returns to the Ottawa public outdoor stage with a (safe) bang this September.
Love from Afar, a Shakespeare mashup, received praise in 2020 for it's successful tour to Long Term Care facilities. Thanks to the magic of radio waves, a Company of Fools performed outside the windows of locked-down senior residents. Now in 2021, this innovative production has been re-imagined and is ready for a wider outdoors public audience.
In a similar vein to 2020 - and still highly relevant in these disjointed times - the new Love from Afar public tour examines what it means to experience love across boundaries. The tour breaks new ground for the Fools, with elements that they plan to continue into future summer Torchlight presentations.
The 2021 tour is deliberately constrained to ensure adherence to safety restrictions, taking care to protect audience members and the Fools team.
Unlike Fools’ summer shows, this will be a ticketed event with a strict audience limit. The pay-what-you-can policy stays, but this will be via an online ticketing platform or via phone. Cash or credit cards will not be accepted at the site. In keeping with accessibility and outreach mandate, half of the Fools shows will be presented for free to clients of non-profit facilities serving vulnerable populations.
Public performances take place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from September 2nd to 25th. The small window of opportunity between the province starting to open up and cooler weather means that the public tour will be short: 12+ shows at 7 locations. Given the limited number of tickets and venues, the company is exploring ways to share the love with a wider audience.
About Love from Afar Love From Afar: a collection of Shakespeare’s greatest hits woven together by the story of three friends discovering the meaning of love. What do you do when you can’t remember what love is? Grieving the loss of his wife, one man turns to his friends to help him recall the elusive, indescribable, undeniable thing that we all know as ‘love’.
But, what happens when the two friends he’s called upon have very, VERY, different answers? Using stories with star crossed lovers, a woman in disguise, moody prince, grouchy king, and even a talking wall, the three friends try to answer the age-old question: Love, what is it?
This completely original Shakespearian mashup by Ottawa theatre powerhouses Nicholas Leno and Sarah Finn blends six of the Bard’s classic scenes with comedic interludes that all explore what it means to be in love, the different types of relationships where love can grow, and how love can overcome hurdles.
Three Actors adopt six famous roles each as they bring life to the love stories of Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Directed by co-author Nicholas Leno, this snappy weaving of Shakespeare’s most memorable stories of the struggles and triumphs of love will keep our hearts warm this Fall.
This three-handed Shakespearian mashup is in six capable hands - Geoff McBride, Mitchel Rose and Maryse Fernandes make up the Company for this deliciously bite-sized tour. With costume design by aesthetic wiz Hannah Ferguson, set design by supreme imagineer Even Gilchrist, and original score provided by musical superstar Alli Harris, this production channels an incredible soundscape combined with some of the most expressive actors in Ottawa to provide an utterly unique experience in these utterly unique times
