[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company’s Cymbeline, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Jason D. Rennie – outside, under the stars.
Cymbeline is the second of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company’s summer program, the wonderful Twelfth Night being the first. The Kingsmen Park at the Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks is the beautiful setting for all their wonderful productions. Picnic under the tall trees and the stars and listen to the words of Shakespeare spoken with reverence and understanding while accompanied by the iconic sound of the university frogs in the brook beyond the stage.
Cymbeline is set in ancient Britain – huzzah! – and involves the universal Shakespearean themes of jealousy, innocence, love and power. Cymbeline is the king, but the story really revolves around his daughter, Imogen, who has secretly married her childhood sweetheart, Posthumous. Once the king discovers their marriage, his horrible new wife spills the beans, Posthumous is banished to Italy, leaving Imogen bereft and Imogen’s stepmother and her vile son Cloten with the perfect opportunity for mischief.
Their terrible plan is to wed Imogen to Cloten and then to poison Imogen and the king and place Cloten on the throne. Simple! But with Shakespeare, nothing ever is…so there are journeys and wagers and doctors with sleeping drafts masquerading as poison and long-lost brothers and betrayal and deep, deep love.
It’s actually a rather beautiful play, and I am astonished that it isn’t performed very often. There are some truly wonderful characters and lots of foul plots and excellent fights and Imogen is by far the best of Shakespeare’s heroines, I think. She is bold and brave and outspoken and she literally takes her fate in her own hands rather than rely on someone else to fix her life and save the day. She saves everyone, really, which is utterly brilliant!
What is also particularly poignant about this play is how much hope there is. The good guys far out way the bad and truth is the real hero. So it’s astonishingly timely! In our world of all too convenient answers for very difficult questions, Cymbeline offers us a shining glimpse of honor, justice and courage. Imogen is the heroine, but every character takes what could be inconceivable risks, for the most part with no thought of their own profit or even their own survival. They believe in something. Someone. We need this in our lives now more than ever. We need fierce faith and unshakable bravery.
This cast is as usual spectacular and the Kingsmen draw from their fabulous pool of talent to cast these wonderful roles. Everyone is brilliant, every word is spoken with scholarly understanding and deep empathy. Honestly, this is what Shakespeare is all about. Take a story and fill it with funny, dangerous, bolshy and brave characters and give it a life or death situation, throw some spectacular actors into the mix and presto!
The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is now officially my favorite Los Angeles company of Shakespearean treasures…thank you! Bravo! Can’t wait till next year!
Tickets:
https://ci.ovationtix.com/35972
When:
July 11-13, July 18-20 and July 25-27, 2025. All performances begin at 8:00pm
Where:
Kingsmen Park
Cal Lutheran campus
60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks
About The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company
The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is dedicated to presenting professional programs and performances of the works of William Shakespeare for the education and entertainment of people of all ages.
https://www.kingsmenshakespeare.org
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