Review: ‘Equivocation’ at the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia

By Tim Dunleavy for DC Metro Theater Arts, 1 Nov. 2015

Equivocation, Bill Cain’s alternative history about William Shakespeare getting caught up in deadly royal court intrigue, is exceedingly clever and almost dizzyingly erudite. And it has some quite funny moments early on. But it soon turns dark and depressing, focusing on a historical event that’s bleak and, to many Americans, obscure. And with a running time of nearly three hours, Director Terrence J. Nolen’s production eventually becomes tedious. 

Equivocation opens with Shakespeare – called “Shag” here, short for the alternative spelling “Shagspeare” – summoned to a meeting with Sir Robert Cecil, the cold and calculating Prime Minister for King James I. Cecil wants Shakespeare to write a play telling the “true history” of the Gunpowder Plot, the infamous 1605 conspiracy by a group of Catholic noblemen to blow up the Houses of Parliament and overthrow the government. Shag reluctantly agrees, postponing work on his new play King Lear to get the work done. But the more Shag writes, the more he questions the official government story. (Where did all that gunpowder come from, anyway – and where did it go afterwards? And if the plotters spent months digging a tunnel under Parliament, where did all the dirt go?) Before long Shag is sneaking into jail to interview the accused, wrangling with Cecil, and putting his own life at risk.

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