A chance to strut their stuff
But Englishman Tim Crouch is speaking up for the pip-squeaks, the underlings, the rank-and-file remainders of Shakespeare’s plays. Crouch has been successful with plays from the vantage point of peripheral Shakespearean characters. The darkly comic I, Malvolio is about the stuffy, self-righteous steward from Twelfth Night; while I, Peaseblossom centralises one of the famously underwritten fairies from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Both shows are at the Abbey for March.
Crouch is an admired theatre voice, acclaimed for daring formal works such as An Oak Tree and The Author. Both of his Shakespeare shows at the Abbey are accessible to young people. I, Peaseblossom can be enjoyed by audiences aged six and upward, while I, Malvolio, with its contrary protagonist, is aimed at the over-12s. Crouch says the shows appeal to adults, too. “Peaseblossom is aimed at ages 6+, but some of the best times I’ve had with that show have been with people in their 30s and 40s,” he says. “I suppose I’m idealistic, in that I believe a good piece of theatre should not be in any way limited to, or limiting for, its audience.”
