Turning Glass Shakespeare (TGS), the 2014–15 MFA company of Mary Baldwin University’s Shakespeare and Performance graduate program, in association with the American Shakespeare Center, announces their Renaissance show: Thomas Middleton’s A Chaste Maid in Cheapside.
The lives of three London families are turned upside down when the lecherous Sir Walter Whorehound comes to Cheapside to marry Moll, the daughter of a London goldsmith. When Moll plans to run away with her true love, Touchwood Junior, the characters (and the audience) are in for the surprise of their lives.
In a format based on the American Shakespeare Center’s Renaissance season, TGS only has 10 days to rehearse Middleton’s bawdy comedy, working without a director. This style of rehearsal allows the company to use performance as research to understand some of the conditions under which an early modern playing company may have worked.
Marking the first time that Middleton’s classic will be performed on the Blackfriars stage, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside opens at 8 p.m. on Monday, March 23 and Tuesday, March 24. A talk-back follows the performance on March 24. TGS will revive the production at the playhouse on Monday, March 30 as part of their MFA Play Festival. All performances are pay-what-you-will. For more information, please visit www.turningglassshakespeare.com and check out Turning Glass Shakespeare on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.
If you want an evening filled with comedy, melodrama, and surprising plot twists, come to see Turning Glass Shakespeare’s production of A Chaste Maid in Cheapside!