Brian Dykstra plays Grant, a super wealthy patron of the arts, and Kate Siahaan-Rigg is Janet, a struggling playwright with high-minded principles and crushing student debt, in Dykstra’s Polishing Shakesepeare.
Can one improve upon Shakespeare? That is the question. Or at least that is the question that propels the plot of Brian Dykstra’s Polishing Shakespeare. For more than 400 years, Shakespeare’s identity has been debated, challenged, and disputed, and his plays have been revised, reimagined, and rewritten. Yet it is only recently that the literary ethics of directly translating his works from early modern to present-day English have been thoroughly considered.
Shakespeare’s plays, Dykstra’s comedy teases, still have a lot to offer contemporary audiences, and with a few nips, tucks, polish, and perhaps a dash of dumbing down, they might discard the layers of cultural snobbery that have made them all but inaccessible to mainstream audiences.
As Ms. Branch, the artistic director of a notable regional theatre, Kate Levy shares a sardonic laugh with the company’s cunning benefactor.
For Ms. Branch (Kate Levy), the artistic director of a major regional theater, Shakespeare represents the epitome of artistic and economic cachet. This is clearly manifested in her well-appointed and tony administrative office (smartly designed by Tyler M. Perry). Theatrical kitsch, including a plaster bust, planter, coffee mug, throw pillow, and books for all occasions, all emblazoned with the Bard’s iconic image, adorn the room. Her theater has been given a sizable endowment by a dot-com billionaire named Grant (Dykstra) to transliterate or polish Shakespeare so as to appeal to the masses.
Janet (Kate Siahaan-Rigg), who is described as an “emerging early-career playwright,” has been offered the lucrative opportunity to undertake the assignment. Though rewriting another’s work would betray her artistic integrity, she is lured by the promise of a debt-free existence and financial security—the cherished dream of every aspiring playwright. Besides, even if it means selling out, the project might afford her the chance to show how big money has corrupted once estimable arts institutions.
The conceit of Polishing Shakespeare is tantalizing, and the play abounds in cleverness. Dykstra has written the play almost completely in iambic tetrameter and pentameter, and he nimbly approximates Shakespeare’s wordplay and penchant for internal rhymes, alliteration, and rhymed couplets. For instance, the playwright gets a great deal of mileage from the character’s name “Grant” and his munificence. As Ms. Branch pronounces, trippingly on the tongue:
Grant grants these grants to worthy,
Deserving theatres who do great work . . .
Work worthy of a grant that Grant might grant.
Later, Janet satirically reveals the depths of conformity to the interests of wealthy donors and sponsors. She explains:
You think this theatre would not
Excitedly go ahead and pick the
Fully packed pockets of patrons paying
For programs that these people must perceive
As pointless?
Directed by Margarett Perry, the performers deftly and cheekily lean into the play’s metatheatrical elements, which include references to Shakespearean plays within plays, asides, and soliloquies (which are cunningly indicated with Tyler M. Perry’s lighting). Notably, they reveal the inexpressible effervescence of language. As one of the characters observes, “There’s danger in poetry.” Yet often there is also great pleasure.
Ms. Grant contemplates the shaky moral ground on which contemporary arts institutions are built. Photographs by Carol Rosegg.
While Dykstra as playwright excels at giving the characters scintillating lines and clever turns of phrase, he falters in individuation and plot development. The characters, therefore, are mere mouthpieces for their often morally shaky positions. In many ways, they are reminiscent of Molière’s stock character types, but without the comparable depth or dimensionality. Polishing Shakespeare engages intellectually but rarely emotionally.
Moreover, the central premise about amending Shakespeare is not as ludicrous as the play makes it out to be. In the past few years, New York theatregoers have been able to see productions of Romeo and Juliet and Cymbeline commissioned by Play On Shakespeare, an organization whose mission is to “enhance the understanding of Shakespeare’s plays in performance for theater professionals, students, teachers, and audiences by engaging with contemporary translations and adaptations.” Janet may regard herself as a dramaturgical prostitute for attempting to make Henry VIII relatable to twenty-first-century spectators, but only the most diehard Shakespeare purists see this as a diabolical hit job. The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Beyond the perceived assault on Shakespeare, a darker current runs through the play, and in those moments, the play offers a rallying cry for the arts that are currently under siege. This darker current culminates in Grant’s chilling lines:
We’ll take away your theatres today.
And then museums, keeping art at bay,
Prohibitive with entrance fees you pay
That grow to keep the curious away.
With the recent defunding of the NEA, Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center, and artistic freedoms under attack, it’s time to start sharpening the quills.
Polishing Shakespeare, produced by Twilight Theatre Co. in association with Kitchen Theatre Company, runs through August 10 at 59E59 Theaters (59 E. 59th St.). Evening performances are at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; matinees are at 2:15 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For tickets and more information, visit 59e59.org.
Playwright: Brian Dykstra
Director: Margarett Perry
Sets & Lighting: Tyler M. Perry
Costumes: MuMbles
Sound: Ariana Cardoza
