The Saturday Shakespeare Club begins the year with a five-week examination of “Cymbeline,” one of the Bard’s later works, beginning Saturday, Jan. 14, at Christ Lutheran Church, 10707 Soquel Drive in Aptos.
UCSC Literature Professor Emeritus Michael Warren will give an overview of the play starting at 10 a.m. for the first half of the two-hour session, and selected club members will read aloud the acts under consideration during the second half.
Scheduled to address the group at 10 a.m. the following Saturday, Jan. 21, is Mike Ryan, Santa Cruz Shakespeare Artistic Director, who will also talk about the local theatre company’s productions. Other speakers have yet to be chosen.
“Cymbeline” is thought to have been written around 1610. It’s classified as a romance, such as “The Tempest” and Pericles,” because it doesn’t neatly fit into the normal categories of tragedy, comedy and history. It begins in ancient Britain with the king, Cymbeline, banishing Posthumus, a commoner whom his daughter Imogen has married against his wishes. Then things start going really wrong until the ending wraps it all up in a satisfying manner.
The play echoes actions from several of Shakespeare’s other plays, including “Othello,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “As You Like It,” “King Lear” and “The Winter’s Tale.” Its complex story incorporates kidnapping, jealous rage, an evil stepmother, a doltish prince, a young woman who disguises herself as a young boy, war battles, a beheading, the arrival of people alive who were thought to be dead, and even an appearance by the Roman God Jupiter, who is annoyed about being bothered.
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The Saturday Club morning gatherings continue through Feb. 11 and are open to the public at no cost although a voluntary donation of $2 per session is suggested to help pay to rent the facilities. Further information is available at 831-462-5767 or saturdayshakespeare@gmail.com