Times are tough in the big city these days. The common folk congregate in the streets agitating for more food and better care from the state, but the wealthy elite offer only platitudes and patronizing lectures on trickle-down economics. The ruling class has more important things to worry about than some sickly, starving commoners; there's a big election coming up, and they have power bases to consolidate so that the status quo remains comfortably quo.
It's eerie how Shakespeare could so accurately predict the socioeconomic doldrums and all-for-nothing political situation of the early 21st century while botching the setting by placing his story in pre-imperial Rome rather than America — fortunately, Donna Northcott covers ably for Shakespeare by modernizing the dress and keeping the Eternal City as backdrop in her bracing staging of Coriolanus. It's a show that suffers slightly from a fitful first act but overall is an artistic triumph.
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| Reginald Pierre, as Coriolanus |
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| Along with Reginald Pierre, Betsy Bowman, as Virgilia |
Full Theatrical Reading
Complete Text
Complete Text
Note. The numbers in the title refer to the play number (3.35) and publication year (1608), which Wikipedia noted based on the Oxford chronology.
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