Shakespeare and the Dark: A
Concert-Theatre Piece
Conceived of and written by Karyn Levitt (with Jonathan Epstein)
SONNET 127
In the old age black was not counted fair,
Or if it were, it bore not beauty's name;
But now is black beauty's successive heir,
And beauty slandered with a bastard shame:
For since each hand hath put on nature's power,
Fairing the foul with art's false borrow'd face,
Sweet beauty hath no name, no holy bower,
But is profaned, if not lives in disgrace.
Therefore my mistress' eyes are raven black,
Her eyes so suited, and they mourners seem
At such who, not born fair, no beauty lack,
Sland’ring creation with a false esteem:
Yet so they mourn, becoming of their woe,
That every tongue says beauty should look so.
About the Show
A beautiful woman of unknown origin with dark hair,
dark eyes, and a dark disposition figures prominently in Shakespeare’s
later sonnets. She has come to be known as The Dark Lady. She is
veiled in mystery. Who was she? Mistress Mary Fitton? Lucy Negro?
The courtesan Emelia Bassano? Or simply a woman named Rosaline?
Her identity has eluded Shakespearean scholars for nearly four centuries.
Shakespeare and the Dark is a concert-theatre piece exploring Shakespeare’s
stormy love affair with the Dark Lady between 1592 and 1594, when
the plague was raging in London. Our approach is cubist. Drawing
on the Dark Lady imagery in the sonnets and plays, history, fictional
accounts of her, and possible writings by her, Shakespeare and the
Dark shows a kaleidoscope of perspectives that illuminate Shakespeare’s
dance with the dark.
Running time: approx 2 and 1/2 hours.
Rates
If you are interested in booking the show, please
call for rates.
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