A high-class poster for a high-class play

Last night, a Staff Writer had the opportunity to sit in on the final dress rehearsal for “Bingo: Scenes of Money and Death,” the latest production put on by Barnard College’s Department of Theatre. The play runs today and tomorrow at 8pm, and Saturday at 3pm and 8pm, in the Glicker-Milstein Theater. Tickets are sold out for all four shows, but the waiting list opens at 7pm each night.

For those unfamiliar with the work of the English Marxist Edward Bond, the playwright of “Bingo,” the play presents a fictionalized account of the last few years of William Shakespeare’s life. Set in Warwickshire over the course of 1615 to 1616, the plot of the play follows Shakespeare’s struggle with his own conscience after signing a contract that would protect his own landholdings in case of land enclosure of public lands – thus guaranteeing him financial security at the expense of the common peasant farmers.

When I researched the play before attending, I was drawn to the historical basis that Bond used for the inspiration for his work. Even though the play is largely fiction, historical records show that Shakespeare did in fact side with the wealthy landowners when it came to public enclosure of lands.

Shakespeare is known for his plays that are accessible to both the wealthy and the common peasants of the time, but when it came to actually bridging the gap between those with money and those without, Shakespeare did nothing of substance – at least when it came to protecting and siding with the peasants. In studying history, we see that Shakespeare chose money and financial stability over empathy, and Bond’s play presents a fictional account of how Shakespeare’s struggle in facing the consequences of those actions might have taken place.

Because so much of the play focuses solely on Shakespeare and his process of dealing with his own guilt, much of the play’s success came down to Emil Daubon’s, GS ’16, portrayal of the Bard. Saying that Daubon gave a magnificent performance would be an understatement; the subtlety of the emotion and mastery of the role allowed Daubon to command the stage with grace and conviction. The performance of Shakespeare’s grief, guilt, and pain felt real to the point that it demanded the audience’s empathy, and every painful step in Shakespeare’s struggle to reconcile own actions with a higher moral standard was felt throughout the theater.

While Daubon’s performance ensured that the show was truly spectacular, by no means did the other actors rely on Daubon to carry the show. Joey Santia’s, CC ’17, performance as the mentally-stunted Old Man elicited both sympathy and concern from the audience in appropriate measure, and Sarah Suzuki, BC ’16, was commanding and emotionally evocative in her portrayal of Judith, the concerned daughter of Shakespeare, as she attempted to hold the dying Shakespeare accountable for leaving his family behind. Another standout performer is G. Schuyler Van Amson, CC ’17, for his performance as Ben Jonson, another playwright who balances insightful (albeit drunk) commentary with comedic relief as the play nears its climax.

The Department of Theatre’s performance of Bingo has been sold out for quite some time, and for good reason. Edward Bond’s play is thought-provoking and engaging in the best way possible, forcing the audience to consider the impact of money in a modern society, and the brilliance of this particular performance only lends weight to the message Bond is attempting to convey. Perhaps Bond himself sums it up best in his “Introduction” to Bingo (an excerpt of which is included in the play program): “When livelihood and dignity depend on money, human values are replaced by money values.” Shakespeare sacrificed part of his own humanity in ensuring his own financial stability by selling out the peasant farmers, and Bingo gives us a look at such consequences of choosing money over humanity. Regardless of your personal opinion on the morality of money and capitalism, the department’s performance of Bingo will undoubtedly prompt some soul-searching regarding what true value means in life.

Event poster via Bingo’s official Facebook page