With that ticket price ($20) I would say go if you are at all interested and judge for yourself. And it's only 1 hour 40, no intermission in a tiny theater (seated in the round, no particular recommendation for a seating area (general admission) they use the whole space well).
But I will say that I thought the production was remarkable. Last year's MUCH ADO was tremendous and of course that humor still surprisingly holds up as if it were written today. I was wondering how they could make PERICLES accessible to audiences they assume have never been to the theater before (if you don't know, this is a project of the Public going back to its roots of free Shakespeare all over town for audiences that can't get to the Park or the Public because of lack of information, funds, or because they are literally in prison and aren't allowed out! Prior to these performances at the Public, they have been doing free performances all over town).
They don't 'dumb it down' but they do keep it very entertaining in ways that would probably not necessarily be done in a more traditional performance. It is cut down to 1 hour 40 with no intermission and gallops along. They come out and narrate portions to explain cut scenes.
And except for a 'clap along to the song' moment which actually sort of works, it didn't seem to be pushing too hard at the 'OK, let us help you understand this and stay engaged since we know you probably didn't even want to be here in the first place.'
The small cast does remarkable work at making the shifting characters distinct and easy to follow (the 8 Actors play 40 characters). And I credit them for making a play like this engaging and entertaining and wonderfully easy to follow, and I've seen other attempts at small cast Shakespeare that are not nearly as successful.
And to know the context of their past audiences (women in shelters who had been abused, people in prison for whatever reason) the sprawling plot takes on resonance and although often done for laughs is still extremely moving.
A program note from a past audience member says "Being in prison means the loss of many precious things, but Pericles encourages us to believe that all losses are not final, so don't lose yourself to despair." The idea of losing your daughter for many years and then seeing her again is not so far fetched when you have this context.
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