A Review of CCNY’s Theatre Production: “The Knight of the Burning Pestle”
- 21 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Sara Outar
This March, the CCNY Theatre Department stunned viewers with the production of The Knight of the Burning Pestle. Originally performed in 1607, this play embraces chaos and disorder on the stage through constant unpredictability and scene interruption. This play not only embraces absurdity; absurdity is the whole point! The result of this is an experience that is hard to put into words and certainly hard to forget.
This play is most often described as a “play-within-a-play.” The Knight of the Burning Pestle begins with actors who are there to perform The London Merchant, a love story centered around Luce and Jasper that is slightly reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. However, as the actors are attempting to perform, they are constantly interrupted by a Citizen and his Wife, who sit in the audience. These two openly comment about the play and even insist that the play insert their son, Raphael, as a heroic knight. This forces the actors to shift directions and adjust the story to fit the demands of the Citizen and his Wife, creating a performance where the audience watches not only the play, but also the disruption of the play.
A key aspect that brought this production to life was seeing that the actors genuinely had fun and enjoyed themselves when performing. The actors were fully committed to the play's absurdity through their physical comedy, props, and dance performances. Performers such as Jacob Hodges carried out the jig in a way that also got the audience energized as well. Every actor was completely committed to their roles, even the “horses” are played by actors who are never idle, and they were even “restless” at times. This comedic energy was not just a result of the actors but also the costumes. For instance, Raphael's armor is even a joke in the play. He wears makeshift armor, including a “chestplate” which is just a foil pan. Despite this, the actor carries on as if he were dressed as a knight. This level of dedication was shown throughout the entire cast and was definitely recognized by the audience.
This balance between chaos and humor within the play can be attributed to the director, Chan Harris. In a play that includes many moving aspects and more than one storyline, Harris managed to make the play engaging and entertaining in a modern way. For a play written as long ago as 1607, the script is very fresh and includes modern day references and jokes that resonated with the audience.
Although this production was exciting as a viewer, I also gathered a general confusion from the audience about what the content of the play was at times. Despite me avidly paying attention to the scenes and dialogue, I found myself frequently left in the dark. Since this production is a play-within-a-play, there are many points of overlap and plot shuffling. It unintentionally mixes the viewer's mind between what’s actually happening and what’s not. Thus, it made it hard to draw any emotional depth from this play and an overall message being conveyed.
The standout performance of this play has to be given to Leonardo Tavera as the Citizen and Effie Lopez as the Wife. Together, their dynamic was the glue of this production. Their constant interruptions and bickering felt like I was watching reality TV live. Their commentary provided dialogue that, at times, helped me better understand the scenes being played out. At many moments within the show, their dialogue was what the audience was thinking, acting as if they were simply members of the audience as well. Both of these actors have a natural stage presence and portrayed a modern married couple very convincingly.
All in all, the CCNY production The Knight of the Burning Pestle presents a creative and abstract take on theatre and what theatre can look like. This play embraces silliness and chaos, whilst also demonstrating passion and heart. While the structure of the play was difficult to follow at times, the enthusiasm from the cast and team made this play entertaining throughout. I hope to see future CCNY plays be as experimental as this one was.
Sara Outar is a sophomore pursuing her bachelor's degree in Childhood Education and English. She has always been passionate about reading and creating literature which led her to join The Paper. In her free time she enjoys fiber arts such as crocheting, knitting, and sewing.
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