Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale' lights Boston Common with a story for all seasons

While the winter may seem like the ideal time for the unfolding of a tragedy, Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” shifts seasons and tone over the course of the play, leaving audiences with a story about renewal and redemption. Commonwealth Shakespeare Company will stage one of the Bard’s last and lesser-known works from July 16 through Aug. 4, regaling spectators on Boston Common, free of charge. The dreamlike narrative, both a fable and a cautionary tale, takes audiences through a journey of loss and forgiveness, where the characters ultimately learn that the passage of time can lead to healing.

“No one ever does it. It’s so rarely produced. I think that’s because it needs a good surgical cut, which I did, to make it as accessible as possible,” director Bryn Boice, in her Boston Common debut, said. “It’s one of those that begs to be performed and seen, versus read. I don’t feel that way about all of Shakespeare’s plays. It’s almost inscrutable when you read it, but when you put it on its feet, it’s powerful, it’s beautiful, it’s funny, it’s tragic, it’s everything.”

“The Winter’s Tale” introduces us to Leontes, King of Sicilia, who unreasonably believes his wife Hermione to be guilty of adultery with his best friend, Polixenes, the King of Bohemia. Convinced of the truthfulness of what he has imagined, Leontes puts his wife on trial, setting in motion a chain of events that leads to the loss of his family. His newly born daughter is abandoned, later to be named Perdita and adopted by a shepherd, while Leontes’ son, Mamillius, perishes of grief, leading to the supposed death of Hermione. The first half of the play, set in Sicilia, translates very much as a tragedy, while the second half takes place in Bohemia, an entirely different world. Shifting into the dynamics of a comedy, the play offers a magical sense of forgiveness, filled with clowning, romance and reconciliation.

This work has been called what English scholar Frederick S. Boas termed a “problem play,” a story that is neither a comedy nor drama, but incorporates elements of both. The set of the show reflects the movement from winter to spring, beginning with a Sicilia that features rigid, brutalist architecture, and ending with a colorful, vibrant Bohemia. It’s also one that identifies moral dilemmas or social problems, represented through Leontes’ jealousy, derived from a fictitious affair, and his subsequent abuse of power. Boice spoke to the ways in which “The Winter’s Tale” tackles these complex subject matters.

“We see a lot of similarities from this fable-like play to today’s social ills,” Boice said. “The one that really sticks out to me is paying for mistakes. Penance is something that people aren’t doing right now. Can people be redeemed? I think they can. It’s not a short path, but people can be redeemed if they ask for forgiveness. It’s very allegorical.”

She added, “The problem play exposes how complex life is. Life actually looks a lot like this.”

Leontes, played by Nael Nacer, is a character whose motivations are not villainous, but rather, he believes that his own perceptions are truth. Nacer drew parallels between the role he plays and Othello, from Shakespeare’s famed tragedy, although in “The Winter’s Tale,” Leontes deceives himself, without relying on a figure like Iago.

“It’s all about someone who connects the wrong dots,” Nacer said. “He starts to believe that he’s being gaslit by all the people he trusts and loves — and he’s wrong. And I find that fascinating. We live in a time when people feel very strongly about certain things and mistake those feelings for fact. I found that very relevant.”

While Boice emphasized that “The Winter’s Tale” is not exactly a fairytale, the actors expressed the importance of dreams in the work. Leontes constructs a fantasy that he believes to be real, leading Hermione, played by Marianna Bassham, to state in Act III, when she has been placed on trial:

“Sir,
You speak a language that I understand not:
My life stands in the level of your dreams,
Which I’ll lay down.”

Hermione, publicly accused of infidelity, argues on her own behalf by asserting that her fate is dependent on what Leontes’ mind has invented. Her husband replies, “Your actions are my dreams,” signifying that he has blurred the line between nightmare and what has transpired. Nacer said Leontes believes that dreams can actually lead to revelation, resulting in his being misled by his own false impressions. The rupture between the couple comes from the power of imagination, which determines a character’s future.

The play, which features monologues delivered by strong female roles, may be interpreted as taking a stand against misogyny, said Bassham. Hermione is forced to defend herself when she stands before a court, declaring her own truthfulness. When she testifies, beneath a spotlight that makes her appear both alone and powerful, she delivers a broader social message that Bassham hopes will resonate with women attending the show.

“She starts to fight not just for her own honor, but it feels like she’s fighting for women’s honor, for women to be believed,” Bassham said.  “I want the audience to hear that as all women deserve respect, to be heard, to take care of their own bodies. That’s a great moment. Bryn [Boice] has me directing most of my court scene to the audience, not for onlookers onstage.”

This particular production of “The Winter’s Tale” translates well to the stage at Boston Common, Nacer said. He specifically enjoys the theatrical dynamic that these outdoor Commonwealth Shakespeare Company productions create.

“One of the things that is unique and really wonderful about the Common is how many people come and see this for free,” Nacer said. “There’s always a vast audience. The relationship between the characters who speak to the audience and the audience is a crucial one.”

He added, “Because we’re outdoors, there’s something unpredictable about what might happen night to night. There’s noises of the city, people walking by. There’s the weather. We’re all in this experience together. If the clock starts to chime, that’s part of the show. If there’s a police car, that’s part of the show. It puts us in the same place, where there’s less separation.”

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s production of “The Winter’s Tale” runs through Aug. 4 on Boston Common.