A new artistic director has taken over Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan this season. Kayvon Koshkam was born in Saskatoon, however, his career in theatre has taken him across the country and the United States, as well as overseas. For the last seven years, he has been the artistic director of Vancouver’s SpeakEasy Theatre. He also founded the Pull Festival: Vancouver’s 10-minute play festival. Koshkam arrived in Saskatoon last summer, and he says although many people would find it hard to believe, he missed the Saskatchewan winters.
He says there were some other adjustments he had to make with the move. He says he came from a background of being onstage or directing actively every month. In his new position, he had a significant amount of time to work on the shows throughout the winter months. The first play hitting the stage this summer is The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Koshkam has asked the advice of General Manager Melanie Rogowski on a production that the Saskatoon audience would love, and she said the company needed a blockbuster level production this year such as the classic.
Koshkam adds that although the play is set in the 18th century, the lens has a contemporary feel. The lighting system is fairly advanced, and the soundtrack will involve pop and jukebox elements. Viewers will hear ‘Tears for Fears’ included in the soundtrack, as well.
Romeo and Juliet will run from Friday evening until August 20th, and the other two plays to follow are ‘As You Like It’ with a modern twist running from July 15th to August 19th, and The Dark Lady, running from July 8th to July 23rd.