Alberta Theatre Projects takes on Teenage Dick
Teenage Dick.
(What a title.)
Playwright Mike Lew has taken two of the most dramatic things known to humankind – Shakespeare and high school – and put them together in the hilarious and sharp-witted dark comedy that will close out Alberta Theatre Projects’ 2022-23 Season. The smash hit play was originally programmed for the company’s 2020-21 Season but had to be put on hold due to the pandemic. The long-awaited production will finally be hitting the Martha Cohen Theatre stage this April.
In this darkly comedic adaptation, the high-stakes tragedy and political drama of Shakespeare’s Richard III are transported to the hallways of a contemporary high school. Richard, or “Dick” as his nemesis calls him, is bullied because of his cerebral palsy, and is determined to have his revenge. He plots a ruthless path to power in a dramatic student council election. Aided by his quick-witted best friend Buck, Richard seeks to overthrow the bullish star quarterback Eddie to become student council president while charming the most popular girl in school. But as Richard falls deeper into a pattern of manipulation and greed, he is faced with an unexpected choice: Is it better to be feared or loved?
Commissioned and developed by The Apothetae, a New York theatre company “dedicated to the production of works that explore and illuminate the, ‘Disabled Experience.’” (The Apothetae website), Teenage Dick has enjoyed runs at Ma-Yi at the Public (New York), Donmar Warehouse (London, UK), Woolly Mammoth (Washington, D.C.), and Arts Club (Vancouver), just to name a few. The show was a New York Times Critic’s Pick in 2018, with critic Jesse Green calling the play “exhilarating. It suggests how much richer the theatre will be when it is truly open to artists of all kinds. Not just because those artists deserve employment but also because the canon of classics deserves reimagining to match our world.”
Comedy is riddled throughout Teenage Dick, from the razor-sharp wit of characters Richard and Buck, to the hilarious takes on classic high school tropes (“the jock,” “the overachiever” “the “cool” teacher”), to Richard’s inexplicable (to his classmates, at least) use of Elizabethan language, mashed up with contemporary high school vernacular.
But unlike the high-school-set teen films adapting Shakespearean comedies – think 10 Things I Hate About You (1999, adapted from The Taming of the Shrew) and She’s the Man (2006, adapted from Twelfth Night) – Teenage Dick is adapted from a tragedy. The comedic elements of both Richard III and Mike Lew’s adaptation serve to draw the audience into a much deeper story of power, “perception, disability, and the treacherous road to ascendancy.” (Dramatist Play Service)
Alberta Theatre Projects’ production of Teenage Dick also marks a return of collaboration with The Shakespeare Company and Hit & Myth Productions. These companies last joined forces for the 2018 production of Tom Stoppard’s famous absurdist tragi-comedy, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, the production receiving 6 Betty Mitchell Award nominations.
And Shakespeare fans take note – The Shakespeare Company and Hit & Myth Productions will have their production of Richard III running from April 14 – 29, almost concurrently with Teenage Dick. Audiences will have the unique opportunity to see both Teenage Dick AND the play it’s adapted from in the same month. The tricky thing will be deciding which show to see first!
Calgarian Jenna Rodgers directs Teenage Dick, and the mostly local cast includes Dylan Thomas-Bouchier (Richard), Anna Cummer (Elizabeth), Riki Entz (Buck), Todd Houseman (Eddie), Emily Howard (Clarissa), and Isabella Pedersen (Anne).
Teenage Dick runs from April 18 – 30 at the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons. Tickets at albertatheatreprojects.com.
