‘Love’ at first sight for Boathouse Theatre

Anton Peleman and Rose Church had never met before final auditions for “Shakespeare in Love” at the Boathouse Theatre. Over the course of four months, though, they have developed the on-stage chemistry – and off-stage camaraderie – to convincingly play the lovers in the title.

The production, featuring a cast of 20 actors and as many technical crew members, opens next Wednesday (15 April) at the riverside venue in Blenheim. Monday evening, between a costume check and lighting tests, the duo joined castmate Rob Miller and director Pam Logan to relay their thoughts.

Adapted from the Oscar-winning Best Picture, “Shakespeare in Love” tells a story – not the story – centred on Will Shakespeare’s romance with Viola De Lesseps. Comedy and drama punctuate the play.

Fans of the film will find freshness in this theatrical take. “When we started doing rehearsals,” Rose said, “we all had seen the movie and we all were emulating the characters we had seen on the screen. “Pam really tried to drill into us that we are not those people – we need to make [the characters] our own, and they ended up being quite different than in the movie.”

“You bring what you bring to the show,” Pam injected. “That’s what I want when I direct a show.”

Pam has directed shows since 1979, around one a year. For this one, she has the six-member Bard Band along with the assemblage of actors to place in the tight space on stage. Sets still needed final touches on Monday, yet the scene already evoked the Shakespearean era.

Asked what they hoped audiences would take away from the nine performances over 10 days, Rob (a.k.a. Lord Wessex) expressed a shared sentiment.

“We hope they will leave feeling they’ve been really entertained and enjoyed the quality of the whole stage show,” he said. “The acting, the lights, the music – everything that comes together.”