Review: Two Noble Kinsmen

Joseph Illingworth and Alexis Bell in The Upstart Crow's production of mostly-Shakespeare's The Two Noble Kinsmen.

The Two Noble Kinsmen is a curiosity. And that's the main reason why I drove up to Boulder to see The Upstart Crow's bold production. Curiosity. Now it's your turn. There are a lot of reasons to see this rare production, all of them good.

This may be the only chance you have in your lifetime to see an uncut version of Shakespeare's all-but-forgotten last play, written and produced in 1613, three years after "Henry VIII." The romantic/tragic comedy didn't appear in the First Folio of 1623, and academics didn't even acknowledge it as Shakespeare's work until the 20th century. Actually, the play is as much John Fletcher's as it is Shakespeare's. An entire sub-plot is attributed to Fletcher, and -- I'm almost ashamed to say -- I found myself enjoying those bits as much or more than the Bard's.

Two best buds (Eric Wahlberg, Joseph Illingworth) have everything going for them: they are successful soldiers of noble birth, they're rich, handsome, intelligent, capable of making soaring poetic speeches and skilled in courtly manners.

Unfortunately, the prevailing chivalric views of honor doom them as the two hopeless "bromantics" both fall in love from afar with the same woman (Alexis Bell). What basically boils down to an argument over "I saw her first," grows inevitably into a feud of tragicomic proportions, as they compliment, encourage and admire one another even as they prepare to duel to the death.

That's the Shakespeare part, more or less.

Meanwhile, Fletcher's contribution is about a base-born yet charmingly intelligent and attractive jailer's daughter (Kate Brauneis-Krull) who falls in love with one of the noble kinsmen, talks to herself a lot, goes crazy from unrequited love, almost but not quite "pulls an Ophelia" and comes more or less to her senses to marry a regular guy who isn't burdened by highfalutin' ideas about love and honor.

Though the plots wander around a bit for nearly three hours, and the characters are hopelessly sincere even while behaving in silly ways, The Two Noble Kinsmen has a lot going for it. There's a lively Morris dance, a thrilling sword fight, a pathetically lovely mad scene, several boisterous comic cameo parts, beautiful costumes, courtly speeches and chivalry galore.

Director Richard Bell has done a fine job staging this production, and his program notes, worthy of a master dramaturg, are always highly informative and entertaining.

As a Christian theatre lover, I'm grateful for plays like this, that explore the ultimately destructive logical conclusion of idealistic romantic love, which has more to do with oneself or an abstract ideal than sacrificial love and true intimacy. These noble kinsmen are willing to turn their backs on a rare friendship and kill or die for a girl neither ever really gets to know. The object of their affection gets passed around like a prized possession, while the authority figure King Theseus (Sam Sandoe) threatens all kinds of things, but never really follows through.

Interestingly, three altar pillars describe the playing area: one to Venus (sexual love), one to Mars (war) and one to Diana (virgin huntress). These three forces create the tension that drives this play and brings ruin to otherwise commendable characters. One can only surmise how things might have turned out differently if a another kind of altar altogether took center stage.

The Two Noble Kinsmen plays through February 28, 2009. Call 303-442-1415 or visit www.theupstartcrow.org for information and reservations.