The Knight of the Burning Pestle
by Francis Beaumont
directed by Noah Brody & Emily Young
In a delightful collaboration with Red Bull Theater, we took on a revival of Francis Beaumont's 1607 comedy, The Knight of the Burning Pestle. Directed by our very own Noah Brody and Emily Young, we remained faithful to the original story while adding plenty of playful touches along the way. The show was a unique and hilarious experience where a grocer and his wife, unsatisfied with the play about to be performed, jumped out of the audience to demand a new one about a common man. This led to a riotous and joyful production where we improvised on stage and made Rafe, the grocer's apprentice, the star of his own show as the "Knight of the Burning Pestle". The whole experience was a testament to the power of ensemble and the joy of creating theater that is both classical and wildly new.
THE KNIGHT OF THE BURNING PESTLE
by Francis Beaumont
directed by Noah Brody and Emily Young
February 10 – March 10, 2024
presented by Fiasco Theater and Red Bull Theater
Fiasco Theater; Jessie Austrian, Noah Brody, Ben Steinfeld, Co-Artistic Directors; B.J. Evans, Managing Producer
Red Bull Theater; Jesse Berger, Founding Artistic Director; Jim Bredeson, Managing Director
A joyful celebration of the universal capacity to improvise, this delightful Elizabethan comedy is a rough and rowdy romp filled with MUSIC and MERRIMENT! As a group of players gathers to present a play about the elopement of star-crossed lovers, they are abruptly interrupted by a grocer and his wife. They have a different kind of play in mind–an outrageous hero’s quest of derring-do…The Knight of the Burning Pestle. And they know just the fellow to star–their apprentice, Rafe. This new subplot–invented on the fly–takes over the stage in surprising and disruptive ways.
featuring
Jessie Austrian, Noah Brody, Paul L. Coffey, Andy Grotelueschen, Devin E. Haqq, Ben Steinfeld, Paco Tolson, Tatiana Wechsler, and Emily Young.
Production Staff
Production Stage Manager: Theresa Flanagan
Assistant Stage Manager: Joanne Au
Dramaturg: Paul L. Coffey
Original Music: Paul L. Coffey, Andy Grotelueschen, and Emily Young
Set Design: Takeshi Kata
Costume Design: Gina Fruhling
Lighting Design: Cha See
Sound Design: Fan Zhang
Fight Director: J. David Brimmer
Vocal Coach: Liz Hayes
Casting: Stephanie Yankwitt, CSA
Production Manager: Jade Chew
Associate Director: Ashley Thaxton-Stevenson
The list above includes the core creative team, but is not comprehensive. We are grateful and lucky to have worked with everyone who made The Knight of the Burning Pestle possible, from the teams backstage and front of house to design associates and interns, and all of you, our community and audience members.
"Laughter and Mirth" music and lyrics by PAUL L. COFFEY
Reviews
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“And their performances carry with them a swaggering sense of rehearsal room experimentation and delight…It’s an invitation to all of us: To put on our colanders, take up our kitchen implements and give ourselves over to make-believe.”
- Alexis Soloski, The New York Times