“Imogen Says Nothing” ran from Oct. 16 through Oct. 19 at the Robert J. Orchard Stage at the Paramount Theater. Written by Aditi Brennan Kapil and directed by Rebecca Goodheart, the play is a historical satire on the lives of William Shakespeare’s theater company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, presented through the perspective of a “Bear” Imogen, a silent role mentioned in “Much Ado About Nothing,” now personified.
Disguised as a human, Imogen hangs around the group, shedding light on their ignorant and patriarchal worldview. She, ironically, is the only character who can communicate how she feels effectively, with all others succumbing to their ignorance from whatever position in society they operate.
A common issue found among audiences and scholars of Shakespeare is that these “King’s Men” know nothing of the world and have no regard for women, which are heavily informative themes in the play.
The Bear of this story, Imogen, shows the plight of women at the time as she is portrayed as oppressed and limited in what she can do for a career, as many women of Shakespeare’s day were.
This play is neither about Shakespeare’s acting company, nor his audience. Instead, “Imogen” is about what Shakespeare means to our audience, our understanding of history, and how different historical periods were represented through his words. The play is as much about legacy as it is about history and our own research and understanding of Shakespeare and his company.
Though in the minutes leading up to the performance, an unresolved tech issue led to a sound crash at the top of the stage, which all on-site Emerson technicians were helpless about. This quickly developed into a near show stopper, as most of the board’s sound cues were cut from the sound system, forcing the show’s directors to make a difficult decision.
They could either close the show for the night or do something risky—run the entire show without guaranteeing sound.
As the director, Goodheart chose the latter decision—that the company should go forward and play without sound. Actors’ mics still worked, and understudies and the stage crew aided the actors in creating noise to fill the different cheers and echoes throughout the show that sound would have supplied.
The show went on throughout all three acts. And in “Imogen Says Nothing,” the acting company’s voices, lights, and the set design told the story with humor and authenticity, without any audible music or background noises.
These actors inhabited all the blackouts, the echoes, and the overly dramatic moments with their voices, gimmicks, and more. They more than exceeded expectations in a very difficult position, entertaining during scene transitions. Their excitement following when the King’s Men entered stage to the crueler scenes of abuse, the way each of the actors process and present the material, both individually and as an ensemble, was incredible to watch.
