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Filament's 'Adventures Of Robin Hood' Breathes New Life Into A Classic Tale

By Alex Nitkin | January 16, 2017 5:26am
 The play is showing every Saturday and Sunday until March 19 at Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Filament's 'Adventures Of Robin Hood' Breathes New Life Into A Classic Tale
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PORTAGE THEATER — The story of Robin Hood, the world's most famous tax assessor, has undergone centuries' worth of retellings and reenactments since its genesis in medieval England.

But none of them look like "The Adventures of Robin Hood," the intimate and interactive play premiering Saturday at Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave.

For one thing, in this version, the story's dozen-plus characters are all played by the same two actors. They seamlessly weave together action and narration, clueing the audience in on each unfolding scene before diving into a demonstration.

While non-traditional, the play's interactive style ties the story back to its earliest days, according to its director, Omen Sade.

"When the Robin Hood myth started in the 13th century, the way it was transmitted was around fires and in taverns," Sade said. "This script is very rooted in that storytelling aspect, where you have our actors not only playing the characters, but playing themselves."

But "The Adventures of Robin Hood," written in 2009 by Scottish playwright Oliver Emanuel, was also chosen for its relevance to Chicago in 2017. While it's still the same kid-friendly swashbuckling adventure as ever, it's impossible to avoid the political parable within, said Julie Ritchey, the theater's artistic director.

"Knowing the season would be coinciding with a new president, we were excited to start the year that looks into a lot of different ideas about leadership," Ritchey said, adding that the story's traditional villain, the sheriff of Nottingham, isn't portrayed as the "mustache-twirling" miser of typical retellings.

"He's shown as trying to do the best he can, and it raises a lot of questions about the greater good, and the inherent tension between freedom and bureaucracy," Ritchey said.

The production casts a "moral ambiguity" over Robin Hood and his recruitment of merry men, calling into question whether stealing from the rich is ultimately justified, she said. It's a dilemma — how to best allocate resources during times of need — certain to strike a familiar cord with anyone who follows city politics.

The theater company's casting of two women to play every role also lays the story into a more appropriate context for the modern world, Sade said.

"Today, society has changed a lot so that the people who are confronting entrenched power are no longer white men," he said. "So putting this story in the hands of two women gives the audience an opportunity to see these issues from a new perspective."

The actors, Molly Bunder and Jyreika Guest, spend every moment of the play in the audience's sight, even as they transport them to new settings and slip on different characters' skins. Most of the action plays out atop a long wooden banquet table, which anchors a theater-in-the-round set facing spectators in every direction.

It all makes for an immersive experience, pulling in newcomers regardless of their pre-baked views or expectations, Guest said.

"It's a fun, old-school story that kids can connect to, but it also hopefully leaves a lesson," Guest said. "That there's hope, even in the middle of a lot of turmoil, that people have the power to get together and change things."

"The Adventures of Robin Hood" will show at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday until March 19. Tickets can be bought online for $25 each.

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