Patrick Page's Swansong @ Seattle Shakespeare

Patrick Page's Swansong is the bread-and-butter of institutional theatres: an audience-pleasing show about the theatre (subject: William Shakespeare) that offers an emotional drama (Ben Jonson's love-hate relationship with Shakespeare) that's a tad bit intellectual and really dramatic and emotional. Imagine Amadeus, but with (slightly) less murder. We have little to fault with the production itself--for $20 it's a good price and tolerable time. It feels like watching a romantic comedy, and would probably make a good date.

Mainly, Swansong is a cheery, slightly comic, slightly maudlin little play that pretends to intellectual depth (It's about Shakespeare! And Ben Jonson!), but is really the same old story of one man with a bitter past, forever trapped in the shadow of his more talented and famous friend. Seven years after Shakespeare's death, Jonson's commissioned to write a dedication to the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays. Their turbulent relationship is replayed in Jonson's mind over the course of one night, ultimately resulting in Jonson's famous preface poem.

Memory plays about famous writers are a dime-a-dozen these days, and with Tom Stoppard playing the field (Invention of Love), the rest pale, leaving Page's script feeling pedestrian in contrast.

As Ben Jonson, actor Brandon Whitehead strives to infuse a character written to be a remorseless misanthrope with some human vulnerability; the result reminded us a lot of Kelsey Grammer's Frasier Crane--comically self-absorbed and prone to pompous pronouncements--which may sound like, but is not intended to be, an insult. Were the script fuller and more elaborate we might hold it against Whitehead for playing a bit as a caricature; as it is, it works well for the part, and anyway, everyone loves Frasier.

As Will Shakespeare, Tim Gouran does an equally good job playing an equally flat character. Gouran bounds about the stage and tosses off bon mots with graceful ease, but somehow, we never really imagined Shakespeare being so much like one of his own sharp-tongued characters. Again, we don't hold it against the actor--in fact, hearty thanks to both Gouran and Whitehead.

As a closing note, for those who find the idea interesting but prefer meatier fare, check out Edward Bond's play Bingo (read it, as you're unlikely to see it on a Seattle stage any time soon). Bond's play concerns the same events--a meeting between Jonson and Shakespeare shortly before the latter's death; but unlike in Page's play, Jonson's criticisms that Shakespeare was flippant about his work and mostly in it for the money, are not treated as inherently mockable. It's got all the complexity and drama that Swansong lacks.

"Swansong" @ Seattle Shakespeare Co. // Mon-Wed, thru Jan. 23 // $20

Photo of Brandon Whitehead and Tim Gouran by John Ulman.