Double Falsehood
Reviewed by Stephen Fife
The Porters of Hellsgate at the Hollywood Fringe Festival
Through June 16
William Shakespeare is the greatest playwright in the English language. Right?
It’s hard to argue with that — I wouldn’t — but if all you knew of Shakespeare was Timon of Athens or Pericles, you might wonder what all the fuss was about (that is, after you woke up from a deep snooze). However, both those lesser plays by Shakespeare are peerless classics next to Double Falsehood, supposedly a “lost” play of the Bard’s by way of Lewis Theobald, a piss-poor 18th century English dramatist.
The story goes that Theobald somehow got hold of Cardenio, a stage adaptation of a scene from Cervantes’ Don Quixote that was registered to Shakespeare and John Fletcher, but which was never performed. Theobald then rewrote it and had it produced in 1727, over a hundred years after Shakespeare’s death. After sitting through the 55 minute Porters of Hellsgate production, I felt like I had seen a whole lot of Lewis Theobald and very little (if any) Shakespeare.
The “double falsehoods” of the title are committed by Henriquez (Jesse James Thomas), the wastrel son of Duke Angelo (Dylan Booth). First, he rapes Violante (Susan Vesely), a virtuous girl of humble birth, when she rebuffs his advances. Then he steals away Leonora (Katie Hotchkiss), the fiancé of his best friend Julio (Tim Oakes), after dispatching Julio to court and promising to look after his love. Leonora’s father (Dan White) wants her to marry Henriquez because of his royal heritage, but Leonora loves Julio and is able to smuggle a message to him. Julio shows up just as the marriage is being performed, and drama ensues.
All of this could be the stuff of greatness in the hands of a great playwright, but it seems very generic in the hands of Theobald. The Porters of Hellgate try to give it a mythic-meta timelessness, setting it “neither here nor there…long ago and also right now.” They also bring in music from Eminem and other contemporary artists. None of which feels organic. In fact, it makes a confusing story harder to follow and more difficult to get emotionally involved in.
Still, one appreciates the Porters bringing this historical curio to the Hollywood Fringe (and soon to their NoHo home), and those with unfettered admiration for the Bard would do well to check it out.
The Broadwater Studio, 1078 Lillian Way, Hollywood; Sat.-Sun., 11 p.m.; through Jun. 16. https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6103. Running time: 55 minutes with no intermission.
