Delaware Shakespeare takes to an outdoor stage in New Castle County to present a re-imagining of one of the playwright’s classic comedies.
DelShakes will present several performances of Twelfth Night: O Lo Que Quieras at Rockwood Park. DelShakes Producing Artistic Director Mariah Ghant says the play is an update of what some people have called the perfect comedy.
“There's mistaken identity, there's confusions of love. And so it has kind of everything," she said. "And we've taken that and exploded it even more by adding music and by also making it partially in Spanish.”
Ghant says audiences shouldn’t worry about being intimidated by the show’s combination of Shakespearean language, Spanish, and music.
“Let the words wash over you like music, so don't feel like you have to pick apart every single word that you're hearing, but instead absorb it all and watch and feel as it's occurring," she said
While the reimagination of Shakespeare’s play maintains the same key plot points, it is also updated to make it strikingly relevant in 21st century America. For example, the two protagonists are migrant refugees from Venezuela.
“The story is really about the migrant experience. It really is about providing a voice for people who maybe otherwise, they're being silenced," Ghant says.
Twelfth Night, O Lo Que Quieras opens on Friday, July 18 at New Castle County’s Rockwood Park with a preview show on July 17. Tickets and performance information is at https://delshakes.org.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
