“Invigorating, dark and delightful! I am in awe of the passion of the performers. I was at the edge of my seat for the entire show! Must see for all!”
“Parsons-Lord has taken the scenes of violence, sexual and otherwise from the works of Shakespeare and presented them in a way that draws attention to those acts and makes us look at them for what they are as opposed to being lost in the flow of a play, where some of the less palatable aspects can be downplayed. Instead she holds the scenes up, strips them of anything but the language and the interpretation of the actors, creating a more impactful understanding of the text… Whether you’re a fan of Shakespeare or afraid, this show is equally for you. If a fan, you will find new meanings in the ways in which the text is brought to life. If afraid, you’ll learn how accessible it can be in the right hands.” - Rob Dunkelberger The Stages of MN
DO NOT be fooled by the use of the word “Shakspeare”. DO NOT disregard us as “outdated,” “boring,” or (worst of all) “safe”! Violent Delights is anything but — our show is addictive. Violent Delights is living, breathing, in-your-face theatre, and the closer we are to our audience, the better! Actors sweat, slap, scream, touch each others’ naughty bits, and above all, NEVER STOP MOVING throughout the entire 90 minute show. I realised a long time ago that language is a humongous barrier in Shakespeare. Wanting audiences to understand these stories, I have taken my training in a physical French clowning method (bouffon) and yanked out the most violent, disturbing, freaky scenes from Shakespeare. I then mashed them together and created a world where you never know what’s coming next. Eight actors take their audience on a comic, sinister journey to explore the strange delight we humans take in violence. We love leaving our audiences reeling with the unresolved feelings that result when they realise that they’re watching people do terrible things to each other...and it’s really, REALLY fun!
Have you ever seen Shakespeare that has blown your mind? If you can’t yell “YES!” to that answer then I’m telling you right now you have never seen it the way it was meant to be done. The trick is to find a production that can express the fun and brutal truth of his words without boring the hell out of audiences. Violent Delights is that production. This is in no way a traditional show. We intentionally break down theatrical conventions; our performance style is heavily tied to whatever venue we’re in that night. We’ve done this show in an old disused gaol with audiences coming into cells to watch, we’ve performed in homes with audiences watching us from doorways and windows.
Violent Delights has delighted, challenged, and dazzled audiences in Australia and America. By utilising the French clowning method of bouffon, a performance style that is highly physical, we encourage emotional extremes. The aim of bouffon is to mock and confront the audience through interaction and imitation, mirroring the audience in order to expose the hypocrisies and often uncomfortable and hidden truths about society. The unlikely combination of two particular performance styles (i.e. heightened language and broad physicality), as well as the use of dance, song, original music, mime, and magic makes the characters’ relationships enticing, funny, and fresh.
So what’s the point? We like to see strong images, bold choices, high stakes comedy, colossal tragedy. Cut that – we like to entertain. At turns comic and sinister, raucous and hilarious, Violent Delights is bloody…good fun.
VIOLENT DELIGHTS HAS BEEN PERFORMED AT
Minneapolis/St Paul in and around the cities 2019
Minneapolis/St Paul in and around the cities 2014
The Sydney Fringe Festival, Sydney Australia, 2010
The Thousand Pound Bend Cinema, Melbourne Australia, 2010
The Phoenix Fringe Festival, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 2010
The Old Melbourne Gaol and Monsalvate Artist Community, Melbourne Australia, 2006
MUST, Melbourne Australia, 2005
CREATOR/DIRECTOR
Penelope Parsons-Lord
PREVIOUS CO-DIRECTORS
Anneliese Stuht
Sarah Kelly
Shelley Burton
Jason Lehean
Mark Wilson & Celeste Cody
PREVIOUS LIGHTING DESIGNERS
Tony Stoeri - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Sarah Kelly - Sydney, Australia & Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Brian Davison Blue - Melbourne, Australia
ORIGINAL MUSIC CREATED BY
Tom Pitts
PREVIOUS ENSEMBLE MEMBERS INCLUDE
Minneapolis/St Paul, 2019
Amanda Chial, Ashley Hovell, Derek Dirlam, Gary Danciu, Michael Terrell Brown, Penelope Parsons-Lord, Rachel Linder and Vincent Hannam
Minneapolis/St Paul, 2014
Amy Vickroy, Matt Ouren, Michael Kelly, Penelope Parsons-Lord, Rachel Linder, Aaron Ruder, Amanda Johnson and Avi Aharoni
Sydney Festival 2010
Sarah Kelly, Penelope Parsons-Lord, Stephanie Lillis, Will Atkinson, Luke Western, Pablo Calero and Heath Miller
Fringe Festival 2010
Sarah Kelly, Penelope Parsons-Lord, Vanessa Cole, Will Roberts, Stephen Kass and Drew Ignatowski
The Old Melbourne Gaol and Monsalvate Artist Community, 2006
Sarah Kelly, Penelope Parsons-Lord, Stephanie Lillis, Kate Harmsworth, Tom Pitts, Daniel Lammin, Nicholas Bendall and Giuliano Ferl
