The Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival (Flag Shakes) continues their streak of top-notch productions at Coconino Center for the Arts with one of the Bard鈥檚 least performed plays 鈥淭he Two Noble Kinsmen鈥�. The tragic comedy is based on "The Knight's Tale" 鈥� the first of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales 鈥� and was co-authored by John Fletcher.
鈥淚t鈥檚 quirky, it鈥檚 fun, it鈥檚 weird, it's thought provoking,鈥� said Christine Schmidle. 鈥淚 think the reason it鈥檚 not performed as much is because it is one of the plays we know for sure was co-authored. I鈥檝e worked with a lot of Shakespeare鈥檚 plays over the years, and I wanted to share this joy with the Flagstaff audience.鈥�
Schmidle is the Director of Vision and Text and a co-founder at Flag Shakes. She has over a decade of experience adapting the Bard鈥檚 work worldwide, including time spent as a Text Associate at Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe in London. She has also acted and directed numerous times at the American Shakespeare Center. Her scholarly expertise on Shakespeare鈥檚 work is one of the reasons why this latest production is so exciting.
鈥淸鈥楾he Two Noble Kinsmen鈥橾 is about a friendship that turns on a dime,鈥� Schmidle said. 鈥淭wo of the main characters [Palamon and Arcite], fall in love with the same woman, Emilia, and because it鈥檚 a Shakespeare play, they鈥檙e willing to take it to the extreme and fight to the death over this woman they just met. Of course, that is just one of the storylines in the play.鈥�
Another notable storyline follows the jailer's daughter who falls in love with Palamon and is slowly driven mad over her unrequited love. From there, her own adventure begins as she wanders the forest. As with most Shakespeare鈥檚 plays all the storylines converge.
鈥淚 think seeing the story come alive and sharing it with an audience is the best part of the play,鈥� Schmidle said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a story worth telling. I want the audience to go away thinking 鈥榃hy haven鈥檛 I seen this before?鈥� and 鈥榃hen can I see it again?鈥� There are some very joyous moments and there are some really heartbreaking moments, and I think the audience will really enjoy it.鈥�
鈥淭he Two Noble Kinsmen鈥� will run Fridays through Sundays at the Coconino Center for the Arts starting Oct. 6 and ending Oct. 15. Matinee shows are at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays while the evening shows start at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. A Pay-What-You-Will Preview will be available before opening night on Thursday Oct. 5beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now starting at $12. Links to purchase tickets are available on the Coconino Center for Arts as well as the Flag Shakes .