Cheek by Jowl and Pushkin Theatre’s Measure for Measure is here for one week only, departing the ArtsEmerson stage on Sunday, OCT 28 and local critics and audiences are urging Boston to catch this show while it’s here! After opening last night, this production has been met with immense praise from critics and audience members alike. CRITICAL PRAISE “Performed entirely in Russian on a stage bare except for four, enormous, red cubes, this modern interpretation…

Cheek by Jowl and Pushkin Theatre’s Measure for Measure (OCT 24-28) has been sweeping the nation in its US Premiere Tour, amazing audiences and creating an American following as our political scene unfolds before us. With the midterm elections in just a few weeks and the recent Supreme Court nomination, director Declan Donnelan and designer Nick Ormend’s Measure for Measure, “is vivid & uncommonly moving…unsettling poignancy.” The New York Times named this specific production a…

Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure is an unexpectedly modern play. Though it was written in the 17th century, each time it resurfaces it brings along a modern context. Struggling against the tides of power and how that power can affect humanity, Measure for Measure amplifies the political turmoil within its performance context. ArtsEmerson’s presentation of Measure for Measure is a co-production between U.K. and Russian theatre companies—Cheek by Jowl and Pushkin Theatre—and has toured internationally as…

“Who will believe thee, Isabel? My unsoiled name, the austereness of my life, My vouch against you and my place i’ the state, Will so your accusation overweigh That you shall stifle in your own report, And smell of calumny. I have begun.” —Measure for Measure, Act II, Scene iv Over the past thirty years of making, producing and presenting theater, I thought I had become resilient to the ways in which the news…

William Shakespeare is one of the most prolific playwrights of all time but did you also know he is the inventor of many English words and sayings we still use today? Everything from “eyeball” to “arch-villain” to “bedazzled” can be found in famous works by Shakespeare. Although it is one of Shakespeare’s less frequently performed plays, Measure for Measure is the source of several famous words and phrases. To prepare for Cheek By Jowl and…

Shakespeare’s legacy is rooted in language. The majority of students in the United States study Shakespeare in English classes throughout high school and the education surrounding Shakespeare curriculum is rooted in the linguistics and poetic form. His influence on English has survived centuries and his contribution to our vocabulary is often taken for granted. In Measure for Measure alone, we can thank Shakespeare for giving us the words “belongings,” “gnarled,” and “sanctimonious,” amongst a plethora…

As a political drama, Measure for Measure delves into the dangers of authority from the perspective of both those in authority and those under it. Throughout the performance, each character struggles with the power they wield, the power they desire, and the power they’re under, trying to strike an impossible balance in order to maintain their morals. At the center of the swirling politics and wayward beliefs stands Isabella, a young nun desperate to save…

Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure is often described as one of the playwright’s “problem plays,” shifting between lewd comedy and moral drama with halting transitions. It often leaves audiences confused as to whether they should discreetly chuckle alongside the baseless clowns or hold their breath fearfully during Isabella’s tumultuous attempts to save her brother. Measure for Measure was written between 1603 and 1604, classified initially as a comedy. However, the production history exemplifies the complicated nature…