To Be Or Not To Be Baked
Written by Owentando Zantsi
Baked Shakespeare, a hilarious theatre company that performs some of Shakespeare's greatest works while dabbling in the devil's lettuce, has brought their run of Romeo and Juliet to Cape Town this season.
The bond between VERVE and Baked Shakespeare has been around since the early days of the magazine. The original crew was one of the first interviews held by Jeriah, with the creator Jake Maisel being part of it. Their first show was on August 7th 2021 and they performed Much Ado About Nothing at the Olympia Cafe.
A year since our last visit, the cast has expanded with many of the original members having left to pursue other endeavors. The current ensemble includes James Stoffberg, Ella van der Riet, Jason Bailey, Caleb Swanepoel, Asanda Mngadi, director Juliette Rose-Innes and Jake Maisel now as producer in collaboration with The Outlore. They sat down with VERVE to share how the journey has been so far, and what it looks like being a part of the team.
For actors and audiences alike, the obvious question is: how on earth do they perform while high? To better understand this, the cast shared how the shows are set up.
It all starts before the play begins. As audiences enter the venue and scan their tickets they are given a token. With this token they get to vote which character they would like to see get high. As the show begins, a member of the cast explains the rules and reveals which two members will be smoking throughout. Then the fun part begins!
They hand out five “fie!” boards at random and whoever is lucky enough to get one is able to use it at any time throughout the show and when they do, it's time to get high! Well the cast, not everyone else.
The premise alone seems amusing, so much that former audience members like Ella wanted join in. This marks her second baked season and plays Lady Capulet & Mercutio. She shared how she had actually known about them for a while. Having attended many shows and connecting with cast members, she took a leap and auditioned. Driven by passion for theatre and her love for the occasional joint, she knew she had to be a part of the team.
Luckily, she was accepted immediately. Whereas the audition process for the other members looked different. Director Juliette went into detail about how their process has changed over the years, with them becoming more serious this year.
“We first did video castings then selected about 15 performers who we wanted to come back for the call back. We spent the first half of the day doing monologues—everyone who auditioned this year was incredible, it was very hard to choose. Then we did some chemistry reads and scenes from Romeo and Juliet.”
Throughout the years Baked Shakespeare has gained a reputation in Cape Town. It attracted many crowds, old and young. According to the cast two main things contribute to this: chemistry and accessibility. Their shows foster connections between crowds through comedy and theatre for the people by the people. Much like the work of The Bard which was written to accommodate the people in the pit and those in the seats.
Beyond that, they expressed how, oftentimes people would underestimate the calibre of the shows due to the baked aspect. Whereas when people give it a chance, many come back sharing the same sentiment Ella's mother and her friends shared.
“My mom came last night with some older family friends and I asked what their feedback was. And apparently their feedback was that they've been to so many different and tedious renditions of Shakespeare but they've never seen it and been so entertained and gripped the entire time. It's like the freshest take on Shakespeare they've ever seen”
James, who plays Romeo and has been with the company for 4 years now, shared his experience thus far.
“I've been with baked for 4 years now and in my first year I remember I was quite nervous and judging myself alot. I think that actually happens each time a new performer joins. Then as soon as you dive into the next one you get more comfortable and excited because people recognise you now”
The joy of being recognized is one they've worked hard to earn and they couldn't have done it without each other. To them, being a part of baked meant becoming a family. Not just in the cliché way most people would assume but in a real, tangible way.
In order for them to have two actors high on stage, they need to build trust. The intimacy that comes with it allows the cast to know that they are safe to be under the influence because their team will guide and carry the story. Caleb Swanepoel who plays Benvolio summed it up sharing:
“First of all, theatre is a team sport. No one who is here is here for themselves. Outside of baked theatre as a project, the more you give of yourself–within reason of course–the more you get out of it. I think that’s what this process really asks of actors.”
Ella continues his thoughts sharing how before she joined, she wondered if the family aspect of it was just marketing.
“Because of what Caleb explained and how the show runs, so much importance is placed on the intimacy and trust we have with one another. And so, that's how it naturally carries through.”
As people who all have a background in theatre, they shared the sentiment that it is very different from traditional plays. Nonetheless, they take the skills they've learned and apply them at each rehearsal. Asanda Mngadi aka Juliet and Tybalt, is the newest addition to the cast. He shares what this process looks like to him.
“Even when I think about the reason for joining, it's having gotten the training. It's like great you've got this training but the life of a performer majority of it is less performing and more auditioning. And for me, it (Baked Shakespeare) is an opportunity to keep that textual analysis and technicality required in acting.”
With their current run at The Masque Theatre in Muizenberg runnning until the 12th of July, Baked Shakespeare continues to prove that theatre does not have to mean inaccessible. They make a point to accommodate the young people who might otherwise not visit a theatre, truly embodying the nature of Shakespeare's work.
