Take a play originally set in Messina, Italy and adapt it to 1920’s postwar Europe, set it in Odell Park with Tilly Jackson directing, and you have yourself the makings of another memorable evening spent with Bard in the Barracks. 

By Matt Carter  

With a new season of Bard in the Barracks on the horizon, we reached out to returning director Tilly Jackson to ask a few questions about her process and the play she’s directing. Tilly has been involved in the Fredericton theatre community for several years now contributing her acting, directing, and writing skills to many productions over the years.   

Last year Tilly made her Bard in the Barracks directing debut with our production of As You Like It, and we’re honoured to have her back to direct Much Ado About Nothing, one of two productions we’re staging this summer. 

“Much Ado About Nothing is one of my all-time favourite Shakespeare plays,” said Jackson. “I love that it seems like a simple story on the surface, but underneath it is so multi-layered. There are a few really fabulous roles for women, and also some deeply interesting explorations into toxic masculinity, society’s obsession with womens’ virtue, and how romantic love can present in different ways. Of course, the dialogue is also clever and hilarious, and we’ve gender-bent a few key characters, which always brings out new levels of emotions and motivations. It’s been a joy to work with such an engaged and enthusiastic cast.” 

Directing one of Shakespeare’s plays can be a challenging undertaking to say the least.  Language is often one of the first things people thinking of when they hear to name Shakespeare.  For a director of any play, knowing the ins and outs of dialogue, and understanding each character’s motivations are essential for communicating the story. But when the wording gets “wordy” (and sometimes slightly confusing – we are talking Shakespeare here), it’s important for any director to have answers at the ready. 

“For Shakespeare plays, it’s very important to read footnotes and introductions about the language,” says Jackson. “I try to anticipate what actors will and won’t understand in rehearsal and try to have at least some answers!” 

Once armed with a thorough understanding of story, the characters, and the language, Jackson’s preparation process essentially follows the same path as most other plays she has directed. 

“My process involves a couple of preliminary reads to help me flesh out vision and ideas. Coming from a close-reading literature background, I’m very text-oriented, and I’m also quite visual, so I often get lots of pictures of potential staging as I go through. I usually read once fairly quickly, noting my initial thoughts or if a particular image pops into my head, and also writing down any questions I may have about timeline or motivations. I try to put together a timeline of events leading up to the beginning of the play, to help myself and the actors understand their characters’ mindsets from the start. Then I read a second time more slowly, answering my initial questions when I can and doing research when I can’t.” 

Jackson says identifying patterns and repetition also help her unlock a better understanding of each new story she shares. 

“You can learn a lot from what characters say about other characters, so I usually make lists of what each key character says when they talk about someone else, and what they say when they talk about themselves. For instance, we’ve noticed that in this play, Beatrice is often referred to in bird-like terms, while people often use meat metaphors for Benedick. That may be useful for the actors to know, and it may become something to play with in their performances.” 

In keeping with Bard in the Barrack’s long history of reimagining Shakespeare for a modern audience, we’ve chose to set his summer’s production of Much Ado About Nothing in 1920’s Europe. And once again using the stunning surrounding of Odell Park as her backdrop, Jackson is excited to share this new adaptation of an old classic.  

“As a long-time Bard participant (and an enthusiastic audience member before that), I’m always excited to see what new themes and settings are chosen to reinterpret a familiar play,” she said.  “I loved our bright 70s Comedy of Errors in the Barracks (2017 and 2018) and the woodsy carnival of Hamlet in Odell (2014 and 2015). Spending a night outdoors, surrounded by actors appearing out of the darkness, hearing song and prose in echoing shouts – that’s the Bard experience, and it will always be magical to me!” 

Much Ado About Nothing runs from June 21 – July 9. Complete dates and details can be found here