Shakespeare, song and silliness

After touring the world over the last decade with fresh one-woman-play takes on literary legends, Penny Ashton returns to Blenheim with her new Shakespearian saga.

Her solo musical, ‘The Tempestuous: A Shrew’d New Comedy’, is touring across the South Island this August with Penny taking to stage at the Boathouse Theatre on Thursday the 15^th of August.

In ‘The Tempestuous’, Penny plays 13 characters during the fallout from the death of Sicily’s beloved King Enzo, as Princess Rosa must navigate belching stepfathers, lusty suitors, popping cod pieces and menopausal witches to face her destiny.

“It’s a combination of prose, verse, music, opera, singing, and dancing bringing feminism, funniness, and silliness to the stage, to give people a good laugh together,” says Penny.

“I’ve had attendees come along and say they’ve been reading up and researching the original Tempest of the Shrew before shows, but you don’t need to do any research for a fun night!

“My proudest part of it all is having written it in Shakespearian style, iambic pentameter and all – it’s been a lot of rewriting and reworking to get it to how it is today, but it’s almost like the PG14 style that original Shakespeare was in that I interact and play with the audience”.

The show includes music arranged by Chicago based Kiwi musician Robbie Ellis, who has brought together pieces from Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, Vivaldi and more for the play.

And while Penny has taken her shows international, she says that the magic of Kiwi small-town theatre crowds brings something more for her and her crowd.

“I bloody love it, it’s much more of an evening out for people which means the audiences are generally more up for a fun night as well and great shows feed off a great audience”.

“I’ve been involved with Arts on Tour since 2010, taking shows to regional towns which you’re always interested to perform in - like who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to perform on Stewart Island?

“It’s a great chance for me to see familiar faces who have attended Blenheim shows before, but also encourage creativity in communities and leave people with a smile.

“But I’m proud the show brings something for everyone from Shakespearian drama to raunchy comedy, just as the Bard intended”.

Purchase tickets for “The Tempestuous – A Shrew’d New Comedy” at https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2024/the-tempestuous-shrewd-new-comedy-by-will-shakespeare/blenheim