Canterbury Tales

For years, I had wanted to check out The Shakespeare Tavern. What an excellent idea... Shakespeare in a small intimate atmosphere, pub food, yummy desserts.. What could be better? I am so glad I had the opportunity to check out Chaucer on Peachtree.

The show was a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed the variety of the sketches performed. All of the sketches had some element of humor to them, but in a moment they could change and take on more dramatic flair. I particularly enjoyed The Franklin's Tale. The actress who played Dorigen did a remarkable job. The Wife of Bath's Tale was also well done. Bravo!

I have never taught Chaucer, but I could see how it might not be an enviable task. The language would be, to put it mildly, a challenge for most students. However, adapting the stories into a more modern context, as this Shakespeare company does, would make Chaucer much, much more accessible to students. They would be able to see the classic themes inherent in each tale. Pride, jealousy, trust, drinking, gambling- these are all themes in today's TV sitcoms and movies. The basic ideas and themes don't change, just the guises they come in. That is an important lesson for students to learn and production such as this one does much to move them in that direction.