The college’s theater department recently opened its fall play to student audiences, presenting a new interpretation of William Shakespeare’s

Measure for Measure

. The performance is complete with a dynamic and expressive set design, explicitly modern costume design and an interpretation of Shakespeare’s text that emphasizes its most raw and raunchy aspects.

Measure for Measure

is a theatrical experience that is nothing short of astonishingly alluring in more ways than one.

The original plot of

Measure for Measure

follows the kingdom of Vienna where the Duke Vincentio leaves the city for a time and appoints the conservative and ascetic judge Angelo in charge of the city while he is gone. During this time, Angelo uses his newfound power to enact laws that outlaw brothels and declare that fornication, adultery and pre-marital sex are all punishable by death. The consequences of these new laws play out in the character of Claudio, who is expecting a child with his unmarried lover and is taken prisoner with the promise to be executed. He sends for his sister Isabella, a novice nun who has just entered cloistered life, to come to Vienna and persuade Angelo to save him. Isabella arrives and tries to convince Angelo to release Claudio, which prompts Angelo to offer her a deal: he will release Claudio under the condition that Isabella must yield him her virginity, sending Isabella into a crisis of conscience that sets the play’s action in motion.

Measure for Measure

is one of a handful of Shakespeare’s plays that he wrote later in his career that don’t neatly fit into the established categories of comedy or tragedy, differentiating them from his most famous works. They are categorized as “problem plays” because of their dramatically ambiguous nature and shifting tone between tragic and comedic elements, such other examples include

Winter’s Tale

and

All’s Well That Ends Well

. Because of this ambiguity, these plays can be difficult to adapt successfully and are not as often performed as his more popular ones, but director Craig Lattrell’s production of

Measure for Measure

takes a clear and decisive stance on this problem.

By addressing and centering the most controversial and risqué elements of Shakespeare’s original text,

Measure for Measure

requires the audience to fully participate in the injustices and laughs of this wide-ranging story carried out by its ensemble of actors. The production takes place in modern day Daytona Beach, Florida and contains scenes of sex-work protests, political rallies and a prison in the pursuit of bringing the story into the modern era.

Along with the modern and colorful costume design of characters such as Isabella, Lucio and the prisoners, the set design is also constructed to emphasize the most impactful parts of the play. Walls are placed on each side of the stage, opening and closing to switch between the Deputy’s office, the convent and the prison.

On the main wall behind the stage there are also three compartments that serve as windows into the upcoming or present setting as well, most often functioning as the other cells in the prison which Claudio is trapped in. The clever set design is furthered by the contributions of the tech designers, including ominous musical transitions and lighting that emphasizes the characters’ journeys and mood of the scenes effectively.

The play itself is also one that never fails to entertain, moving between comedic exchanges, sequences of action and tender moments between characters that balance the play away from its darker moments, specifically the scenes in which Angelo confronts Isabella and a beyond shocking ending that is guaranteed to incite discussion between audience members after the performance is over. Overall,

Measure for Measure

is a theatre experience that offers profound insight into how a story can be reinterpreted beyond the bounds of its original source to emphasize new or original messages.