All the Devils are Here, 08 February 2024
All the Devils are Here, Patrick Page’s solo exploration of William Shakespeare’s villains was a wonderful introductory experience to the world of Shakespeare for those who needed a little bit of deconstruction to fully see the breadth and depth of Shakespeare’s work. The hooks of an incredible, familiar actor; the focus on villains in particular; and a short run time, brought in audiences who might normally only see Broadway musicals but wanted to get their feet wet with aspects of theatre history that are normally overwhelming to them.
Page’s speed-through of the complexity of Shakespearean villains, as well as his incredible, magnificent performances in each of the roles that he stepped into was masterful, as was the accompanying lighting and sound design. It was interesting to me, as someone who studied Shakespeare extensively as part of my theatre education, to see the villains in chronological succession; it was fascinating to see what ideas Shakespeare was experimenting with—which ideas he continued to develop, which were discarded, which were thoroughly understood, and which he was still puzzling through at the time of his final play.
The analysis was refreshing, clear, and thorough, as was Patrick Page’s manner of presenting. This worked marvelously with Page playing all of the characters, which I understand was tied together at the end as a thematic point—that Page himself has parts of each of these villains inside of him, as do all of us. However, for audience clarity, I do think it might have been interesting to explore having other actors materialize on stage in some way—even just a second actor to be his foil for some of the scenes. The solo show convention of turning your body and cheating out while playing multiple characters in a scene felt cumbersome, and I think it influenced the audience understanding because Page was working so hard to delineate the characters from each other that the audience lost track of some of the thematic content Page was trying to demonstrate.
The talkback afterwards was exceptionally valuable, and a wonderful surprise. It was a great way to get some insight into how the content of the show was curated and Patrick Page’s process as an artist. It was also a genius way for the audience to connect with Patrick Page as he is hard of hearing and cannot really stage door in the traditional sense that audience members are used to. This way, he got to connect with fans and answer any questions in a way that allowed those who wanted that extra moment with him to have it, and others to exit (not pursued by a bear).
Pages on Stages 