Actors' Renaissance 2020
a method in MAN’S wickedness.
Travel to the land of Iberia—a sort of adult Never-Never-Land—where King Arbaces’ royal dilemmas include marrying off his sister before his own feelings for her get in the way and a murderous plot against him hatched by his own mother. Rarely performed, this Jacobean masterwork is a wickedly funny complement to the Shakespeare classics explored in this Actors’ Renaissance.
“I LOVED IT! Equal parts Arrested Development, Veep, The Office and The Big Bang Theory, A KING AND NO KING leaves audiences gasping in flabbergasted laughter.”
-Shakespeareances.com
SPECIAL EVENTS
Dr. Ralph Presents | Friday, Feb. 14, 21 & more at 5:00pm
Discovery Space | Sunday, Feb. 23 & more at 11:00am
Talkback Thursdays | Every Thursday after the performance
Ronald Román-Meléndez and Benjamin Reed in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
David Anthony Lewis and Benjamin Reed in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Chris Johnston in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Zoe Speas in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Ronald Román-Meléndez and Sylvie Davidson in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Ronald Román-Meléndez in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Constance Swain, Chris Johnston, and Meg Rodgers in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Zoe Speas and Benjamin Reed in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Benjamin Reed and the cast of A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Sylvie Davidson and Zoe Speas in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Zoe Speas and David Anthony Lewis in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
John Harrell in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Benjamin Reed in in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
David Anthony Lewis, Benjamin Reed, Zoe Speas, and Ronald Román-Meléndez in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Chris Johnston and Brandon Carter in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
The cast of A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
KP Powell and Benjamin Reed in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Constance Swain, Chris Johnston, and Meg Rodger in A KING AND NO KING, 2020. Photo by Lindsey Walters.
Cast
Benjamin has been a resident company member with the American Shakespeare Center since 2014.
THIS SEASON:
Ronald Román-Meléndez is an accomplished actor with over 30 previous roles at the American Shakespeare Center.
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: 27 seasons and over 200 roles including Falstaff in Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2; Brutus in Julius Caesar; Iago in Othello; Guildenstern in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern …
Brandon Carter was the Artistic Director of the American Shakespeare Center from January 2022-March 2024.
THIS SEASON: Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet and Balthazar, Courtesan, Jailer, Messenger in The Comedy of Errors; Dance Captain.
Chris Johnston has over 20 years of theatre experience and more than 120 productions at the American Shakespeare Center.
K.P. Powell is an actor and director with the American Shakespeare Center, known for his dynamic performances and bold storytelling on stage and off.
David Anthony Lewis is an accomplished Actor with over 70 professional theatre credits A Christmas Carol 2024 is his 36th production with ASC.
THIS SEASON: Margaret, George Seacoal in Much Ado about Nothing; Mistress Quickly, Travers, Bullcalf, Davy in Henry IV, Part 2; Spaconia in A King…
Constance Swain is an innovative director whose bold vision and creative energy inspire captivating storytelling at ASC and beyond.
THIS SEASON: Hero in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, Hamlet in HAMLET, First Citizen in CORIOLANUS
THIS SEASON: Valentine, Officer, Swing in Twelfth Night; Swing in Othello
THIS SEASON: Ursula in Much Ado about Nothing; Understudy in Henry IV, Part 2; Understudy in Henry IV, Part 1; Messenger, Woman, Understudy in A King
Sam Saint Ours is a talented actor and music director known for his dynamic performances and musical contributions at the American Shakespeare Center.
Artistic Team
Adrienne was the ASC’s Interim Production Manager.
Before the Play
- Arbaces, the King of Iberia, has defeated Tigranes, King of Armenia, in single combat, putting an end to many long years of war.
During the Play
- Victorious Arbaces declares that the only ransom Tigranes must pay is to marry Arbaces’ younger sister Panthea. Arbaces hasn’t seen his sister since he left Iberia when she was nine years old, but he promises Tigranes that she is peerless in beauty and grace.
- Tigranes counters that he would rather pay “worlds of ransom” than marry Panthea; Arbaces demands that Tigranes journey to Iberia to meet Panthea before refusing her. Tigranes agrees.
- Mardonius, an Iberian Captain, urges Arbaces to check his hasty temper.
- Arbaces learns that his mother was foiled in her latest attempt to take his life.
- Tigranes entreats his secret beloved Spaconia to travel before him to Iberia and lobby Panthea to refuse the marriage.
- In Iberia, Lord Protector Gobrius and the Queen Mother Arane engage in a cryptic exchange and he cautions her to cease her treasonous plotting.
- Captain Bessus arrives in Iberia to report on Arbaces’s success and deliver Spaconia, but focuses primarily on his own role in the conflict.
- Having seen Panthea, Spaconia is afraid that Tigranes will fall in love with her on first sight. Spaconia confesses to Panthea Tigranes’s desire not to be wooed and urges her help in the matter. Panthea swears she will not stand between the pair.
- The Iberian citizens welcome Arbaces home. After years apart, Arbaces cannot believe that the young woman in front of him is his sister. He falls in love with her.
- Panthea is confused and distressed by her brother’s erratic behavior.
- Tigranes also falls in love with Panthea despite his guilt over breaking his vow to Spaconia.
- Spaconia sees the change in Tigranes’s affections and is distraught.
- Arbaces sends Tigranes to prison.
- The boastful Bessus, his honor newly restored by his actions in war, is dismayed to be challenged to several duels.
- Arbaces is wracked with guilt over his incestuous love for his sister.
- Potential damnation ensues.
Wondering what exactly the Actors’ Renaissance is? Want to learn more about our deepest dive into Shakespeare’s performance conditions? Check out our blog post: