Event

Measure for Measure

"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall..."

The law no longer has any hold over the citizens of Vienna. The sex trade has taken over the shadier pockets of society. Left in charge, the brittle Angelo assumes power with relentless spite: oppression and fear reign. But, after meeting the enchantingly wilful Isabella - the sister of imprisoned Claudio - he can't adhere to his own rules. Deceit, hypocrisy and scandal spiral out of control.

Now in its 14th year, Cambridge University's largest and most prestigious international tour show has been delighting audiences up and down the east coast of the USA since 2000. Each September, Cambridge's most talented actors, directors, producers and technicians bring a Shakespeare play to colleges, high schools and professional theatres, performing to packed houses and critical acclaim.

This year's show will be directed by Charlie Parham, whose recent production of King Lear toured to Europe and London, and his all-male As You Like It ( FringeGuru) took the Edinburgh Fringe and London by storm last summer. At Cambridge, he has directed plays from Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot to Tom Stoppard's Arcadia to great critical acclaim.

Charlie wants the company and their audiences to embrace and grapple with the challenges that famously make this a 'problem' play. He believes that this highly physical, explosively visual production will make the 1604 text as relevant now as it ever was, without losing the fraught beauty of Shakespeare's original words.

Stylish, intoxicating, hilarious and tragic by turn, this production will hurl you head first into modern day Vienna with vigour and passion. With a timeless aesthetic inspired by cinematic icons ranging from Fellini to Tarantino, it will be a whirlwind of political corruption, gender subversion, sex and scandal, justice and mercy...