Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)

Year
2001 - 2002

Creatives
Director: Hans Jansen

Assistant Director: Henriëtte Poelman

Production Coordinator: Janene van Loon

Writer
Ann-Marie MacDonald

Synopsis
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) is a wonderful feminist spoof of Shakespearean theatre, full of the original conventions, involving mistaken identities, cross-dressing, and love triangles. Frustrated in love, Constance Ledbelly finds herself in the world of her thesis, where Shakespeare's women turn out to be one category above their men. But whether that is better? It is also a quest to find herself, because, as it turns out, there are two, sometimes even three sides to every person… A woman's part is not an easy one. MacDonald has based her play around the existing texts of Othello and Romeo and Juliet. Even though more than half the dialogue is not the original Shakespeare, it is written in a very similar style: almost all in unrhymed iambic pentameter. This may sometimes be difficult to follow, but the sheer exaggeration of characters such as Juliet, Romeo, and Othello provides a rich source of comedy.

Cast
Lolu Ajayi: Othello / Soldier / Romeo

Catherine Bökkers: Julie... Er, Jill / Juliet

Youri Dechesne: Iago / Professor Night / Soldier / Mercutio

Debbie Kamphuis: Juliet / Ramona / Desdemona

Cornelis Krottje: Mercutio / Othello / Tybalt

Helena de Kok: Chorus

Gerry van der Laan: Romeo / Iago / Servant

Marlous Peterse: Constance Ledbelly

Henriëtte Poelman: Desdemona / Tybalt / Nurse / Ghost

Crew
Linda Bosscher (Props, PR, Costumes)

Renate van Roosmalen (Costumes)

Jan Geerling (PR, EPR)

Erik Hers (PR)

Annelies de Jong (Costumes, PR)

Cornelis Krottje (PR, Manuscripts, EPR)

Janene van Loon (Camp-catering, Props)

Marlous Peterse (PR)

Henriëtte Poelman (Manuscripts)

Deciana Speckmann (Props, EPR)

Marleen v/d Velden (Costumes)

Mark de Vries (Production Designer, Props)

Performances
March 8th 2002: Prinsentheater

April 18th 2002: Universiteitstheater

April 19th 2002: Universiteitstheater

April 20th 2002: Universiteitstheater

Seotember 2002: Universiteitstheater

Sponsors
Apotheek de Jong Veendam

Athena's Boekhandel Groningen

Café Klapper Groningen

Café Seizoen Groningen

Casse-Croute Groningen

Horeca-Proefbon Groningen

Special Thanks
Ria Bosschers (Costumes)

Angelique Ebbinge (Costumes)

Gijs (Professor Night's suit)

Pepijn de Gier (Set-building)

Korstiaan Gorter (Set-building)

Cornelis van Loon (for the yoke)

Petra Sikkema (decapitated-head designer)

Lynn Hasz (Renaissance dancing instructor)

Rink Hooijsma (fencing instructor)

Rikste van der Velden (Costumes)

Vic (Set-building)

Helen Wilcox & Rina Walthaus (for the opportunity for the try-out during the conference)

Trivia

 * The first performance of Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) on March 8th 2002 was a try-out at the Renaissance literature conference Women and Drama in England and Spain.
 * Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) had different advertised publicity, under which electronic, the UT program, 8weekly and the Universiteitskrant (PIC!!!)