After her professor pans her doctoral thesis on Shakespeare, a student finds herself transported into the Bard's world, where she inadvertently sends his stories in hilarious new directions - and finds her true self along the way.
That's the premise of the comedic play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), the latest production by the departments of theatre and stagecraft at Douglas College.
The play, which runs March 9 to 17, tells the story of a Constance (Claire Pollock), a modern-day academic who finds a new awareness of herself through dreamlike experiences of two Shakespeare plays: Othello and Romeo and Juliet.
When her professor criticizes her thesis - that the two tragedies were originally written as comedies - Constance finds herself transported to the worlds of both plays, where she interferes in the action.
This leads to unexpected results for the characters - and for herself.
Director Allan Lysell said he chose to put on the play because it has all the elements of storytelling he loves: action, great language, a happy ending and high and low comedy.
"Good comedy is life-affirming and laughter-making. Laughter is good for us," he said.
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) runs March 9 to 17 at the Studio Theatre at Douglas College, Room 4140 at 700 Royal Ave. Tickets are $8 to $12 and are available at 604-521-5050. For more, see www.douglascollege.ca.
