Equivocation (play)
Encyclopedia
Equivocation, written by Bill Cain
, is a play about telling the truth in difficult times. It proposes the question: what if the government commissioned William Shakespeare
(known as Shagspeare in the play) to write the definitive history of a national crisis, the Gunpowder Plot
, in one of his plays.
London. 1605. A room. Sir Robert Cecil
has called for Master William Shagspeare (Shag for short) to commission a play for King James. After reading what it is he should write about, Shag quickly rejects the offer, but is over powered by Cecil and is forced to take the commission. The scene suddenly turns into one of Shag's plays as actors (Nate, Armin, Richard, and Sharpe) come out performing a scene from King Lear, which Sharpe claims is unplayable. Shag breaks up the argument and tells them how Cecil called upon him, and how he has been commissioned to write a true history of the Gun Powder Plot. Shag tells them he's wary, since current events have never been done on the stage, but his actors claim he's "the man for the job". With that, Shag begins to write.
Enter Judith, Shag's daughter, who looks at the darker aspects of life. After asking him how many people he's killed off in his new play, she gives him clothing to go change into. There is obvious tension between the two. While Shag changes off stage, Judith gives a soliloquy to the audience about how she hates both plays and soliloquies. Shag reenters, scolding her for messing with his work. Shag asks Judith how her twin brother is doing, and she reminds him that her brother is dead. She tells him to ask about her, in which he replies, "You're always the same." When Judith exits Shag's work comes to life. A scene unfolds, in Shakespearean tongue, of three conspirators (played by Nate, Richard, and Sharpe) meeting with Henry Garnet
(played by Armin) about how they plan on blowing up Parliament. After playing out the whole scene all the actors and Shag, with the exception of Sharpe, agree that it just doesn't work. Sharpe then suggests that they change the ending and blow up Parliament, and is immediately berated by Richard about how it is a terrible idea to put on a play about blowing up a king in the presence of the king. Nate and Armin mention how they don't understand how thirteen gentlemen could go about digging a tunnel under Parliament without getting caught, which gets Shag thinking.
Shag makes a trip back to see Cecil, who is annoyed that Shag has yet to finish the play. Shag tells Cecil he wants to know about the dirt ("Dirt? What dirt?"), which Cecil refuses to tell him of. After arguing some more, Shag tells Cecil how the story has no plot, in which Cecil, outraged, replies, "It is treason to say so!" When Shag says how he was just giving literary criticism, Cecil realizes his fault and acts like he said nothing. Shag also apologizes to Cecil for portraying Cecil's father as Polonius in Hamlet. He then asks to interview Thomas Winter, a conspirator in the Gun Powder Plot. Cecil agrees.
The next scene unfolds to show Winter being suspended, with guards telling him how exactly he's going to be executed. Shag meets with Winter, who at first refuses to speak with him. Shag is about to leave but when he sees how Winter can't even write a letter to his wife because his hands are so damaged, Shag agrees to write Winter's wife a letter if Winter helps him. Winter tells Shag of how Robert Catesby called a meeting to first start the plot. Catesby tells Winter how Cecil gave him the gunpowder and of a room underneath Parliament where the deed can be done. Astonished, Shag asks Winter about Garnet's role in this. Winter informs him how Garnet was never in on the plan. Winter, Catesby, and the other conspirators turn back into Shag's actors who are just as astonished by the new play as Shag is. Richard tells them they can't do the show because it is far too dangerous to perform, but Shag insists. Richard realizes why Shag wants to do this so badly and tells Shag, "Helping someone else's son won't bring back yours."
Cecil then arrives at the Globe, wanting a word with Shag. He tells Shag how he has gotten his hands on a copy of the new script and does not deem it worthy to be performed. When Shag asks how he got a copy, Cecil insinuates there might be one or more moles in his theatre company. He then takes the letter Winter wrote to his wife away from Shag. Winter's execution is announced. Shag begs for them to let him live, but Cecil will not comply. Winter recites a poem before being hung, and then is cut down (while he is still alive), cut open, and then has his head cut off. At the final moments of the first act Cecil says, "Behold! The head of a traitor!" and holds up Winter's severed head. Suddenly, the eyes of Winter open and he whispers, "Thou liest." Black out.
Act 2
The second act starts in a courtroom at the trial of the Jesuit priest, Henry Garnet.
in Ashland, Oregon. It premiered April 15, 2009, and closed on October 31, 2009.
The play appeared at City Center in New York City
in March, 2010 with John Pankow
, Charlotte Parry, Remy Auberjonois, Michael Countryman, David Furr and David Pittu
. Garry Hynes
directed.
Original Cast
Anthony Heald
- William Shagspeare
Christine Albright - Judith
, Shag's daughter
Jonathan Haugen - Nate/Cecil/Ensemble
Richard Elmore - Richard/Henry Garnet/Ensemble
John Tufts - Sharpe/Thomas Winter/King James/Ensemble
Gregory Linington - Armin, the script keeper/Ensemble
Bill Cain
Bill Cain is an American playwright.Cain founded a Shakespeare company in Boston.His play, Equivocation was produced at City Center in New York City in March, 2010.The New York Times praised Cain's "impish humor."-References:...
, is a play about telling the truth in difficult times. It proposes the question: what if the government commissioned William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(known as Shagspeare in the play) to write the definitive history of a national crisis, the Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
, in one of his plays.
Synopsis
Act 1London. 1605. A room. Sir Robert Cecil
Robert Cecil
Robert Cecil may refer to:*Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury , statesman, spymaster and minister to Elizabeth I of England and James I of England...
has called for Master William Shagspeare (Shag for short) to commission a play for King James. After reading what it is he should write about, Shag quickly rejects the offer, but is over powered by Cecil and is forced to take the commission. The scene suddenly turns into one of Shag's plays as actors (Nate, Armin, Richard, and Sharpe) come out performing a scene from King Lear, which Sharpe claims is unplayable. Shag breaks up the argument and tells them how Cecil called upon him, and how he has been commissioned to write a true history of the Gun Powder Plot. Shag tells them he's wary, since current events have never been done on the stage, but his actors claim he's "the man for the job". With that, Shag begins to write.
Enter Judith, Shag's daughter, who looks at the darker aspects of life. After asking him how many people he's killed off in his new play, she gives him clothing to go change into. There is obvious tension between the two. While Shag changes off stage, Judith gives a soliloquy to the audience about how she hates both plays and soliloquies. Shag reenters, scolding her for messing with his work. Shag asks Judith how her twin brother is doing, and she reminds him that her brother is dead. She tells him to ask about her, in which he replies, "You're always the same." When Judith exits Shag's work comes to life. A scene unfolds, in Shakespearean tongue, of three conspirators (played by Nate, Richard, and Sharpe) meeting with Henry Garnet
Henry Garnet
Henry Garnet , sometimes Henry Garnett, was a Jesuit priest executed for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in Derbyshire, he was educated in Nottingham and later at Winchester College, before moving to London in 1571 to work for a publisher...
(played by Armin) about how they plan on blowing up Parliament. After playing out the whole scene all the actors and Shag, with the exception of Sharpe, agree that it just doesn't work. Sharpe then suggests that they change the ending and blow up Parliament, and is immediately berated by Richard about how it is a terrible idea to put on a play about blowing up a king in the presence of the king. Nate and Armin mention how they don't understand how thirteen gentlemen could go about digging a tunnel under Parliament without getting caught, which gets Shag thinking.
Shag makes a trip back to see Cecil, who is annoyed that Shag has yet to finish the play. Shag tells Cecil he wants to know about the dirt ("Dirt? What dirt?"), which Cecil refuses to tell him of. After arguing some more, Shag tells Cecil how the story has no plot, in which Cecil, outraged, replies, "It is treason to say so!" When Shag says how he was just giving literary criticism, Cecil realizes his fault and acts like he said nothing. Shag also apologizes to Cecil for portraying Cecil's father as Polonius in Hamlet. He then asks to interview Thomas Winter, a conspirator in the Gun Powder Plot. Cecil agrees.
The next scene unfolds to show Winter being suspended, with guards telling him how exactly he's going to be executed. Shag meets with Winter, who at first refuses to speak with him. Shag is about to leave but when he sees how Winter can't even write a letter to his wife because his hands are so damaged, Shag agrees to write Winter's wife a letter if Winter helps him. Winter tells Shag of how Robert Catesby called a meeting to first start the plot. Catesby tells Winter how Cecil gave him the gunpowder and of a room underneath Parliament where the deed can be done. Astonished, Shag asks Winter about Garnet's role in this. Winter informs him how Garnet was never in on the plan. Winter, Catesby, and the other conspirators turn back into Shag's actors who are just as astonished by the new play as Shag is. Richard tells them they can't do the show because it is far too dangerous to perform, but Shag insists. Richard realizes why Shag wants to do this so badly and tells Shag, "Helping someone else's son won't bring back yours."
Cecil then arrives at the Globe, wanting a word with Shag. He tells Shag how he has gotten his hands on a copy of the new script and does not deem it worthy to be performed. When Shag asks how he got a copy, Cecil insinuates there might be one or more moles in his theatre company. He then takes the letter Winter wrote to his wife away from Shag. Winter's execution is announced. Shag begs for them to let him live, but Cecil will not comply. Winter recites a poem before being hung, and then is cut down (while he is still alive), cut open, and then has his head cut off. At the final moments of the first act Cecil says, "Behold! The head of a traitor!" and holds up Winter's severed head. Suddenly, the eyes of Winter open and he whispers, "Thou liest." Black out.
Act 2
The second act starts in a courtroom at the trial of the Jesuit priest, Henry Garnet.
Productions
The play was first produced at the Oregon Shakespeare FestivalOregon Shakespeare Festival
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States. The festival annually produces eleven plays on three stages during a season that lasts from February to October...
in Ashland, Oregon. It premiered April 15, 2009, and closed on October 31, 2009.
The play appeared at City Center in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in March, 2010 with John Pankow
John Pankow
John Pankow is an American film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for a supporting role on the sitcom Mad About You .-Early life:...
, Charlotte Parry, Remy Auberjonois, Michael Countryman, David Furr and David Pittu
David Pittu
David Pittu is a versatile American actor known primarily for his work in the theater.-Career:Pittu who is of Romanian descent grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut and graduated from New York University in 1989. He is also a writer and director, and member of the Atlantic Theater Company...
. Garry Hynes
Garry Hynes
Garry Hynes is an Irish theatre director. She holds the distinction of being the first female to win the prestigious Tony Award for direction of a play.Hynes was born in Ballaghadereen, Roscommon County and educated at St...
directed.
Breaking up the roles
Equivocation, though it has many roles, was never intended to have a large cast. The intention was always to have six actors. Because of this, four of the six actors are meant to carry the weight of the show by taking on ten or more roles each.Original Cast
Anthony Heald
Anthony Heald
Philip Anthony Mair Heald, known professionally as Anthony Heald , is an American actor known for portraying Hannibal Lecter's jail nemesis, Dr. Frederick Chilton in The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, and for playing assistant principal Scott Guber in David E. Kelley's Boston Public...
- William Shagspeare
Christine Albright - Judith
Judith Quiney
Judith Quiney , née Shakespeare, was the youngest daughter of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. She married Thomas Quiney, a vintner of Stratford-upon-Avon. The circumstances of the marriage, including Quiney's misconduct, may have prompted the rewriting of Shakespeare's will...
, Shag's daughter
Jonathan Haugen - Nate/Cecil/Ensemble
Richard Elmore - Richard/Henry Garnet/Ensemble
John Tufts - Sharpe/Thomas Winter/King James/Ensemble
Gregory Linington - Armin, the script keeper/Ensemble