“The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart” is a rousing, musical look into the clash between the real world and the supernatural, invented by the National Theatre of Scotland and presented by the Shakespeare Theatre Company. But you won’t find “Prudencia Hart” at the Lansburgh Theatre or Sidney Harman Hall. It’s being performed at a pub, the Bier Baron Tavern near Dupont Circle.
Five gifted musicians sing, dance and play a variety of instruments, from banjo and guitar to penny whistle and Scottish border pipes. They create a play in the form of a ballad, sometimes using straight dialogue, sometimes using clever rhymed couplets. The story concerns Prudencia Hart (Melody Grove), a shy, academic expert on border ballads who goes to a conference on Midwinter Eve in Kelso, in the Scottish Border area, to deliver a paper on the topography of hell.
It begins to snow heavily, and Prudencia and her conference mate, Colin (Andy Clark) are snowed in. They try to get a room in a B&B but get separated, and Prudencia eventually winds up dealing with a hellish situation, where time speeds up to infinity, she discovers a library of 100,000 books and has to deal with a man who is not who he appears to be (David McKay).
| Onstage |
| The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart’ |
| » Where: Bier Baron Tavern, 1523 22nd St. NW |
| » When: Through Dec. 9 (no performance Thursday) |
| » Info: $50; 202-547-1122; shakespearetheatre.org |
Scottish writer David Greig’s witty, sparkling script takes aim at everything from dishonest interpersonal double-speak to boring conferences (“Don’t they say at academic beanos/The best talk happens over the cappuccinos?”). Even as he brings up flash mobs, YouTube and Lady Gaga, Greig is clearly telling more than the story of Prudencia, delving into the nature of Scottish life, Scottish heritage, the nature of the rugged, lawless area known as the Borderlands.
“Prudencia Hart” is a participatory play where the audience is encouraged to join in. The music (the two remaining musicians are Annie Grace and Alasdair Macrae) is sprinkled throughout the narrative and includes everything from Sir Walter Scott’s “The Twa Corbies” to a new version of “Guantanamera.” There is no stage in “Prudencia Hart.” The audience sits at tables in a dining room, and director Wils Wilson and movement director Janice Parker swirl the action around the room.
The National Theatre of Scotland does not have a home theater. The group develops works, then takes them on tour; it has brought the extraordinary “Black Watch” to Washington twice. One can only hope that it will continue its association with the Shakespeare Theatre after this appealing “Prudencia Hart.”
