Tarragon production blends Bollywood and the Bard

Alon Nashman

Shakespeare and Bollywood aren’t often thought of in tandem. But Tarragon Theatre’s adaption of Much Ado About Nothing blends the two together. 

“The essential relationships from Shakespeare’s play are all there. And the wonderful fireworks of wit are as present as ever,” says Alon Nashman, who plays Benedict (or Benedick in the original Shakespearean text). Instead of taking place in Italy, the piece has been relocated to Brampton, Ont. and it’s filled with Bollywood-style music and dancing. 

“Everything has this extra little lustre,” says Nashman, “and a kind of new cultural and societal meaning.” For Nashman, it acknowledges the diversity of Toronto and the distinct cultural groups that call this city home. 

“The mixing and melding of those is what makes us so rich and so fascinating,” he says. “It absolutely works here. It makes the play richer, it makes the play funnier and in a certain sense, better.” 

Along with the Bollywood elements, some of the show’s text reflects its new setting. “We’re not being precious about maintaining references to medieval dancing or Latin jokes or that kind of thing. We’re trying to make it absolutely current.” Much of the text is still Shakespearean, but parts of it have been translated into Hindi and the show will have surtitles. Many characters, such as Benedict’s love interest, have also been renamed. 

Nashman describes his character as a “confirmed bachelor” and a “rationalist” who rejects the concept of marriage – until he falls in love with Thara, or Beatrice in the Bard’s version. “He has a change of heart,” says Nashman. “And it’s one of the most incredible transformations perhaps an actor would ever have a chance to play.” 

Beyond playing Benedict, Nashman never thought he’d be part of a production such as this. “When director Richard Rose first offered it to me, I wrote him back and said, ‘do I get to sing and dance Bollywood style?’” Rose said yes and Nashman was in. For an actor used to working with Jewish subject matter –he’s well known for his solo shows Hirsch and Kafka and Son, among many other theatre credits – Nashman says that for once, he didn’t feel like the expert in the room. 

Much Ado About Nothing’s reimagined production is directed by the award-winning Richard Rose, who’s also the artistic director of Tarragon Theatre. Ravi Jain is the consulting director and the show features original music by Ed Hanley and Suba Sankaran – both part of the Juno-nominated group Autorickshaw – and choreography by Nova Bhattacharya. “We’re awash with experts,” says Nashman, referring to how he learned to perform in the Bollywood style. 

After his run with Tarragon Theatre, Nashman is taking Hirsch, co-written with Paul Thompson, and Kafka and Son – co-created with Mark Cassidy – to the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa and the 969 Festival in Johannesburg. 

Meanwhile, Nashman hopes audiences will reflect on the unique wonder that is multicultural Toronto when watching Tarragon’s Much Ado About Nothing. “There is an immense power to being in a room together,” he says of theatre. And he knows this play will let Torontonians celebrate who they are. 

 

Much Ado About Nothing runs at the Tarragon Theatre Main Space from April 29-May 31. For tickets visit tarragontheatre.com