A Skirmish of Wits Makes a Visit to Kingston
When I first arrived in Kingston in 2021, there was a severe lack of Shakespeare in the city, but over the past few years it has been refreshing to see numerous community and student groups bring some of his plays to life. The Domino Theatre with As You Like It, Two Rabbits One Hat with Macbeth, and Blue Canoe with Twelfth Night, to name a few. It is evident that the community here yearns for the Bard’s signature style, and it seems some nearby experts have heard our plea. On August first, The Kick & Push Festival presented a surprise one day only pop-up performance titled Brevity is The Essence of Wit, which featured three players from Prescott’s St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival.
The performance featured husband/wife duo and co-artistic directors Julia Nish-Lapidus and James Wallis alongside Daniel Briere, a member of their current season’s acting company. When I arrived at Summerhill for the afternoon performance, I was met by Kick & Push staff relocating the event a short walk away to Agnes Benidickson Field due to a summer camp’s water gun fight. After the brief shuffling, a few camp chairs were set up in the field facing the performer’s makeshift playing area in the shade of two great trees. The guests from the Prescott company chatted with festival staff and audience members alike in a casual, welcoming manner. The conversation transitioned into the performance so seamlessly that Kick & Push Artistic Producer Liam Karry had to double check that the performers were actually beginning.
The beauty of the performance was this warm, conversational tone. The performance was led by Wallis, who explained his background with Shakespeare and the company’s approach to it. The general structure was: Wallis would explain a perspective on Shakespeare, and then the actors would demonstrate the approach with a short scene or monologue from one of the Bard of Avon’s texts. The recitations were charming, giving brief glimpses into some plays like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth.
By far the most charming piece they delivered was the first meeting of Petruchio and Kate from Taming of the Shrew. The scene, played out by Wallis and Nish-Lapidus, was funny, charming, and expertly executed. Their explanation for presenting it was that after the two began dating, Wallis commented that they should play the pair on stage, and—despite the humorous and inadvertent insult in telling your new partner they would make a wonderful shrew—Nish-Lapidus agreed. They went on to tackle the duo in the 2012 Toronto Fringe, and their history with these roles was clear throughout Friday’s performance; the characters were settled into their bones, and the physicality to express the dated and complex language was honed to a tee. Every joke was clear and precise, and every movement was large enough to convey what an ear untrained to Shakespeare may have missed.
The pop-up performance was a little scrappy—with locations shuffling and little notice for audiences to clear time in their days to attend—but seeing the enthusiasm for the stories and language in these talented performers leaves me hopeful that this relationship between The Kick & Push Festival and the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival will see a more solid relationship in the years to come. Kingston clearly has an appetite for the Sweet Swan of Avon, and with Prescott only being an hour away, these professionals may be the ones to sate that desire.
Find information about more shows in The Kick & Push Festival here. Find out more about the 2025 Season of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival here.
