Shakespeare Society

2006-2007 Productions

Good Night Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet was directed by Rachael Nisenkier and Lisa Walden as our Spring '07 mainstage show. Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet was a departure from the typical BUSS production. Written by Anne-Marie McDonald, it was one of the two times the Society has dared stage a play that was not penned by the Bard himself.  McDonald’s energetic comedy was strongly influenced by many Shakespearean classics, most importantly the tragedies Othello and Romeo & Juliet. In the reworking of the plays, a modern woman is mysteriously thrown into the worlds of Desdemona, and afterwards Juliet. The protagonist, Constance, who in the past has idealized the romance and tragic essence of the plays, comes to realize the almost comic characteristics of  some of Shakespeare’s most recognizable figures. She is alarmed by Desdemona’s lust for blood, dismayed by Romeo’s unstoppable an unscrupulous desire to love and be loved, and realizes Juliet’s passion stems from a morbid desire to die tragically in the name of love. After a series of comedic encounters, Constance realizes that Shakespeare’s world must remain confined to the literary realm. She leaves her unrealistic expectations behind and discovers herself in the process.

Info on Troilus and Cressida will be updated soon!