In Acting Shakespeare, by James DeVita, January 8-11 at ACT’s Central Heating Lab

Measure for Measure, Seattle Shakespeare Company, through February 1, Seattle Center

By Alice Kaderlan

Seeing Seattle Shakespeare Company’s “Measure for Measure” back to back with James DeVita’s one-man show “In Acting Shakespeare” was a revelation. DeVita has dedicated his acting life to performing Shakespeare and his show provides fresh insights into why the Bard is considered the greatest playwright who ever lived.

DaVita opened his show at ACT’s Central Heating the evening before “Measure for Measure” started its run. His script, loosely adapted from Ian McKellan’s “Acting Shakespeare,” describes how and why DaVita fell in love with Shakespeare. Like McKellan’s one-man show, which McKellan took on a US tour in 1987 (and which DaVita saw as a teenager), DaVita’s intersperses anecdotes from his and Shakespeare’s personal lives with soliloquies from the Bard’s plays. The well-selected soliloquies demonstrate how connected to real, everyday life Shakespeare’s plays are.

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