Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival rounds out its 2025 program with the opening of the pensive and poetic production of The Dark Lady, playing the Douglas Campbell Theatre until September 19. Written by Canadian actor and playwright Jessica B. Hill and directed by Moya O’Connell, the powerfully creative piece plays off the Elizabethan rumour mill to bring us a unique look at one of literary history’s most enigmatic creators.
Set in Shakespeare’s England but in collaboration with contemporary values, The Dark Lady is inspired by the life and legacy of Emilia Bassano, a 17th-century poet widely speculated to have been the inspiration for some of Shakespeare’s works. The first woman to be a published poet, a skilled musician and an ahead-of-her time feminist, Bassano is one of the many women rumoured to be the “Dark Lady” of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
In The Dark Lady, Hill lays the groundwork for Bassano and Shakespeare’s relationship with vividly dramatic flare. The audience gets to peak inside as the two headstrong creative forces find their footing; collaborators, contemporaries, rivals, lovers or …
With just two players (on opening night) Arghavan Jenati as Emilia and Nathan Kay as William Shakespeare in the intimate thrust stage of the Douglas Campbell Theatre and a minimal set and a non-stop (no intermission) stream of emotion and activity, the audience is a confidant to their relationship. As moments of bliss are brutally thwarted by harsh realities of the times, Arghavan Jenati’s beautifully emotive face allows the audience a glimpse into the mind of this woman striving to be more than what society will allow. Contrasting with Nathan Kay’s full-bodied personification of Shakespeare, a driven genius struggling with the pressures of fame and ego.
Although as times dark, The Dark Lady is really a love story. On the surface following the familiar “will they/won’t they find love” Shakespearean trope but more importantly it’s a love letter to words and stories. How having the agency to tell your own story in your own words matters, especially in times when people of power try to control that right as a privilege.
From the opening stain of the overtures, The Dark Lady feels impactful, and in the hands of these two brilliant performers under the skilled guidance of Moya O’Connell with Jessica B. Hill’s excellent script this production does leave a lasting impact. A sentiment echoed as the audience quickly rose to applaud, with more than a few wiping their eyes, a stellar performance.
Featuring Arghavan Jenati as Emilia and Nathan Kay as William Shakespeare with understudies Synthia Yusuf and Sebastian Kroon, The Dark Lady runs until September 19, 2025 with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again] – a wildly different but equally entertaining pair of productions – in the Douglas Campbell Theatre stage. Visit bardonthebeach.org for showtimes and tickets. Look for special Bard Club, Talkback Tuesdays and Wine Wednesday performances.