The Rude Mechanicals
The Rude Mechanicals, Tuscaloosa's free Shakespeare in the park company, is a local group of amateurs consisting of UA faculty, staff, former students, and current graduate and undergraduate students, as well as local actors. First formed in June 2003 they began by producing A Midsummer Night's Dream outdoors on the UA campus, which led to a second production the following month with Twelfth Night. In 2005 Steve joined as co-artistic director and has been adapting and directing, beginning with Pericles (2005), The Comedy of Errors (2006), As You Like It (2007), The Taming of the Shrew (2008), Macbeth (2009), Measure for Measure (2010), The Tempest (2011), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2012), The Winter's Tale (2013), and Julius Caesar (2014). In the fall of 2013, the Rude Mechanicals joined with the Prentice Concert Chorale to present Shakespeare Spoken and Sung. See below for some reviews and photos.
See Rude Mechanical's FB page for up-to-date information.
Jubilation, A magazine by the Tuscaloosa Arts Council, wrote an excellent article about The Rude Mechanicals on their 10th season. Read the full article.
See Rude Mechanical's FB page for up-to-date information.
Jubilation, A magazine by the Tuscaloosa Arts Council, wrote an excellent article about The Rude Mechanicals on their 10th season. Read the full article.
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Measure for Measure (2019)
An important play for the #metoo movement. A play about power, corruption, and sexual assault.
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the Merchant of Venice (2018)Shakespeare's famous and troubling comedy/drama of racism and antisemitism.
Photos by Scott Lakey. |
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As You Like It (2017)
Shakespeare's famous transgender comedy.
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Julius Caesar (2014)
The Rude Mechanicals presented their first show of 2014 to open season twelve with Julius Caesar. At a time of increased toxicity in the political discourse where each side vehemently claims that the other side is destroying America, Shakespeare's razor-sharp dissection of political opportunists, cynics, and true believers feels all the more relevant each year.
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The Winter's Tale (2013)
Season 11 of the Rude Mechanicals begins with the remarkable tale of jealousy and love, children and parents, redemption and life awakening, and containing Shakespeare's most famous stage direction - "Exit, pursued by a bear."
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A Midsummer Night's Dream (2012)
Review by Vanishing Sights
Midsummer Marks 10 Years Has it really been ten years? For their tenth anniversary, the Rude Mechanicals have returned to their roots, planning new productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night, two plays they performed back in 2003. Those shows took place on the Presidential Pavilion near the Ferguson Plaza under the conceit of a traveling theater troupe; the audience awaited the arrival of the actors who marched up singing “500 Miles Away from Home.” Realizing at the end of the first performance that they needed a parallel tune for their exit, Mark Hughes Cobb made a spur of the moment ... Read the rest of the Midsummer Night's Dream review... |
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The Tempest (2011)
Review by Vanishing Sights
Tempest-Tossed, Posted by apangburn in Shakespeare, The Rude Mechanicals For their ninth season, The Rude Mechanicals chose to perform Shakespeare’s The Tempest to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first performance of the play in 1611. There was, of course, no way of knowing that a month before the play was to open, great swaths of Tuscaloosa would be devastated by tempests of another sort. No performance of such a play at such a time in such a place could avoid being influenced by such events; .... Read the rest of the story.... |
