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The Indianapolis Shakespeare Company is taking one of the playwright’s early comedies to a New Age retreat for a yoga and meditation makeover.
The production of “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” a play believed to have been written in the mid-1590s, places its characters in a modern secluded sanctuary where four young men want to be smart but are proven to be otherwise through battle-of-the-sexes escapades.
“These guys shut themselves away at this white flowy linen, boho sort of retreat,” said Claire Wilcher, director of the play scheduled for performances July 20-22 and 27-29 at Taggart Amphitheatre in Riverside Park. “Then these women come along and rock their world a little bit. They come in with big gear and their beer-drinking, kind of goofy ways.”
Wilcher said “Love’s Labor’s Lost” is a fitting story for viewing under the stars in a public park.
“It’s a silly rom-com where you know the stakes are low,” Wilcher said. “There’s not a lot to do but just sit back and enjoy.”
This is the third time the renovated Taggart will be the site of the Shakespeare company’s summer mainstage production, following “Ricky 3”—a hip-hop adaptation of “Richard III”— in 2022 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2021. Admission is free, and $25 VIP seating is available.
Wilcher said the venue lessens the potential for Shakespeare to be intimidating for audiences.
“People drive by and stop to watch,” she said. “It makes the whole idea of the ‘sacred’ feeling of theater go away. It’s for anybody anywhere. It can happen at any time, and you don’t have to dress up and you don’t have to spend a lot of money.”
At the same time, the renovated Taggart supplies its share of class. Built in 1931 as a memorial to former Indianapolis Mayor Thomas Taggart, the two-story neoclassical limestone structure was transformed into a performance space thanks to a 2018 grant of $9.2 million by Lilly Endowment Inc.
“It feels fancy without feeling inaccessible,” Wilcher said of the venue. “It doesn’t feel like we’re doing Shakespeare in a palace, but it does feel special somehow.”
Wilcher, who had an acting role in the 2021 production of “Midsummer’s Night Dream,” is a first-time Indianapolis Shakespeare Company director. Although “Love’s Labor’s Lost” isn’t traditionally viewed as a masterwork by Shakespeare, Wilcher said it features wordplay to rival “Midsummer’s Night Dream” and romantic tension in the style of “Much Ado About Nothing.”
“It’s in that sweet spot of comedy,” she said. “I don’t quite understand why it’s not one of the ‘hits.’ Now that I’ve been so close to it for so long and it has such a sweet story of just love and silliness, I wish it were one of the hits.”
Wilcher and Ryan Artzberger, who became executive artistic director of the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company last September, were cast members in the production of “Clue” that closed out the 2022-23 season at the Indiana Repertory Theatre and then moved to Syracuse Stage in upstate New York earlier this summer.
Similar to “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” “Clue” amps up the absurd.
“Anything that legitimizes comedy as a medium is great for me,” said Wilcher, who initially made her name in the Indianapolis arts community as a practitioner of improv comedy. “The more people who see funny things as legit, I’m cool with that.”
‘Love’s Labor’s Lost’
- When: 8 p.m. July 20-22, 27-29.
- Where: Taggart Amphitheatre, Riverside Park 1856 Burdsal Parkway.
- Admission: Free, with $25 VIP seating available.
- Info: Visit indyshakes.com.
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