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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. How Shakespeare Saved My Life
Ming-Trent is a large man, physically as well as emotionally, and in his "testimony" (his word), he tells of how discovering Shakespeare's words in an English class at age 12 gave him purpose while his home life was falling to pieces. Neither of his parents was able to provide the support he needed at that time, he explained, and his teenage experiences included periods of homelessness and drug abuse before he found that theatrical language could help him move forward in life. He explains that a key part of his understanding of Shakespeare came from realizing the similarity of his writing to that of contemporary spoken-word artists, "urban poets reporting what they saw." In Ming-Trent's view, rappers like Tupac Shakur used the language of their community in a similar way to how Shakespeare did with his own. Besides his ease and comfort with language, Ming-Trent knows how to connect with an audience. Much of his performance is structured as a dialogue, inviting viewers to respond verbally to his performance. He also knows how to perform multi-character scenes in a way that delineates which role he's playing at which time, and he demonstrates his charity and lack of bitterness toward the difficulties he has endured–not to mention all the strangers who have told him he really should play Othello. Ming-Trent opened this production at California's Berkeley Repertory Theatre earlier this year and subsequently will present it at Red Bull Theater in New York City. How Shakespeare Saved My Life runs through July 5, 2026, at Folger Shakespeare Library, Elizabethan Theatre, 201 E. Capitol St. SE, Washington DC. For tickets and information, please call 202-544-7077 or visit www.folger.edu. Written and performed by Jacob Ming-Trent Cast: |
