Tonight, I trekked up to Orinda to the the third of this year’s CalShakes plays, House of Joy. This was a modern play by Indian American playwright Madhuri Shekar, and is part of CalShakes “new classics initiative.” I’m not sure what the supposed connection to Shakespeare or the classics was supposed to be, but it was an interesting tale of palace intrigue under a despotic emperor that takes place mainly within the royal harem walls, where the wives and guards are all women. This is a relatively new play, and had some ups and downs, but it was generally entertaining. I didn’t think that it helped to try to connect the medieval setting to the modern day by using swear words and f-bombs. The costumes, particularly on the princess and the queen were quite stunning which sparkled brightly under the lights clear across the theater. It ended very abruptly in a dramatic way as the guards and the new empress are about repel invaders from the competing prince.
It was a very nice warm night, and I ended up sitting the row with a couple that had driven up from southern California to see the actor who played the doctor, who they knew well.