Measure for Measure

The Baron’s Men will be performing Shakespeare’s classic comedy about sex scandals and government corruption, Measure for Measure, April 3,4, 10, 11, 16-18, and 23rd-25th 2015. An Original Practices performance with Elizabethan theatre appropriate costume, setting, and Shakespearean “Wooden O” style theatre by the lake in torchlight, the show offers a unique experience for Austinites to experience the Bard in an historic setting.

The play is one of the lesser known classic Shakespearean comedies wherein an empowered nun’s love for her jailed brother leads her first to a dark pact with a corrupt official, then to an eventual relationship with the soft-willed but fair Duke. A Duke who happens to be moonlighting as a monk and who crosses paths with a pimp who speaks in nothing but double entente. Somewhere in there is an Elbow, a pregnant teen, a lover scorned, and a severed head for good measure. It’s themes of power leading to corruption, sex as an alternate form of power, and a bold but virtuous heroine that pushes a charge for change seem to be ripped from the current headlines and are interlaced with the early modern comedic elements that The Baron’s Men have become known for.

In addition to the show, The Baron’s Men will also be hosting both a corresponding four course Viennese feast to commemorate Shakespeare’s 451st birthday and the announcement of their 15th season on April 18th, and co-hosting Lysts on the Lake, a full-contact equestrian jousting tournament April 24th-26th with a’Plaissance.