Shakespeare on a Shoestring - Cymbeline!

High Schools

Middle Schools

Elementary Schools

Shakespeare on a Shoestring - Cymbeline!

by Michael Calderone

Faked Death! Mistaken Identity! Parental Marital Veto! But wait, there’s more!

About 50 minutes

Times given are approximate and do not include intermissions/scene changes/breaks

12
6 M | 6 W, Plus percussionist. Easily expandable.

Simple set

46 pages

Did you know that Cymbeline has all of Shakespeare’s most famous plot devices? It has… Faked Death! Mistaken Identity! Parental Marital Veto! But wait, there’s more!

Join our players as they tackle the play in the Shoestring style, which emphasizes ensemble, the physical space (with all scenery created by living tableaux) and audience interaction.

It’s the perfect storm for your students to sync up their Shakespeare and turn up their technique.

Awards and Accolades

With twelve actors and twelve plot devices, this piece had a neat symmetry to it and proved, once again, that you don’t need a fancy set and complicated props to get a story across. This team used the script, some good physical theatre and their obvious joy of being on stage to produce an uplifting example of Shakespeare on a shoestring. Source

Characters

12
6 Men, 6 Women, Plus percussionist. Easily expandable.

Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

Yellow Man: Belarius [M] 36 lines
Yellow Lady: Pisania/Pisanio [A] 35 lines
Red Man: Cloten/Jupiter [M] 47 lines
Red Lady: Queen [W] 27 lines
Blue Man: Posthumous [M] 51 lines
Blue Lady: Imogen [W] 71 lines
Purple Man: Cymbeline [M] 35 lines
Purple Lady: Caius Lucius [W] 28 lines
Green Lady: Guilderius/Polydore [W] 40 lines
Green Man: Arviragus/Cadwal [M] 30 lines
Orange Man: Iachimo [M] 62 lines
Orange Lady: Doctor, Narrator [W] 78 lines
Percussionist: An onstage percussionist who punctuates the action

Subgenres: Farce Adaptation Shakespeare
Settings: 16th Century / Elizabethan Present day
Dress: Contemporary costumes Period costumes
Audience: Pre-teen Teen
Features: Mime Movement-based Physical comedy Music

Set: Simple set
Themes: Betrayal Love Jealousy Revenge Theatre
Cross-Curricular Uses: Shakespeare
Other uses: Competition Class work
Awards & Accolades: Plays with Awards & Accolades

Prop List

crowns, purple sash, tiara, skirts, pantaloons, doublets, straw fedora, blanket, letters, black hood, capes

Multimedia

Video

Trailer!

Related Titles

Purchase Orders accepted from US and Canadian Schools.
Info for your purchasing department.

All others must pay at the time of ordering.

Not sure what you need to order? Check out our pricing and ordering guide.

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.