Well, more like who dunnit?
The Shakespeare Festival in Idaho is actually a outdoors theatre. Each month they play several different plays from Shakespeare, but they also have a variety of plays penned by different authors. “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” by Charles Dickens was playing that night. Dark clouds were rolling in, with a hint of thunder and lightning. Perfect evening for a ghost story campfires, that one knows too well from their childhood . Where you would shout out “BOO!!” after moments of silence with the flashlight shining in your face. Spooky, indeed.
Charles Dickens died before he could finish the novel. Thus, never revealing what happened to Edwin Drood. The character disappears halfway through the play, there are twists and turns. But we never know if he disappears, or if he was murdered by one of the characters. Which makes it all the more mysterious, and the perfect story for a dark cloudy night.
You may be wondering, how can they do a play with no actual ending? Do they just cut off the play where Dickens penned his last words? Instead of leaving the play where it left off in the novel, they let the audience choose the ending. During Intermission, the audience gets to vote as to who they think the murderer was. Each night it’s a different ending, a different villain which makes it all the more interesting. The night I was there My audience, choose the most obvious person in the play John Jasper. Interestingly enough, there was a character introduced towards the end of the novel, the butler. Perhaps, there was some use for him, just maybe he would soon reveal a clue as to what happened to Edwin. But, I guess for now, it is up to our Imagination…
Note: They have hearing devices that amplifies the sound, the voices of the actors. Sometimes on a busy night, they run out of headphones, so my advice is to bring one just in case. However, Select nights they are interpreters available.
The best part of this theatre is that they really make it accessible for the Deaf, and Hard of Hearing. Anything you need, if you need a closer spot up close to the actors, where you can hear better, ask, they will help you with that. I did, and they put me in a seat closer to the actors, and I was really able to understand the play. What more could you ask from a theatre??
Plus, the Shakespeare cafe is really scrumptious, good food!! Overall, Shakespeare Idaho Festival is truly one of my favorite places to go in Idaho. On another note, I have to give a shout out to the actors at the theatre, they are so wonderful, endearing, and they truly make the Shakespeare Festival what it is today. BRAVO!
http://www.idahoshakespeare.org/
