Upstate Shakespeare Festival stages a rarity, ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’

Even devoted Shakespeare fans may never have seen “The Two Noble Kinsmen.”

That is precisely why Upstate Shakespeare Festival director John Fagan wanted to stage it.

After more than three decades — and after presenting 31 of the 39 plays generally attributed to Shakespeare — the festival is turning to one of the Bard’s rarest works, a late-career collaboration that blends romance, comedy, tragedy and psychological drama into a play unlike any other in the canon.

“I think 99% of the people are going to be surprised at how entertaining this play is,” Fagan said. “It covers every genre.”

Fagan’s staging of “The Two Noble Kinsmen” runs at Falls Park, July 9-25. Admission is free, though donations are appreciated.

The play, believed to be the last Shakespeare worked on before retiring from the stage, tells the story of cousins Palamon and Arcite, imprisoned after a battle outside Thebes.

Their unbreakable friendship quickly dissolves when both men fall in love with the same woman, Emilia. Their rivalry sets in motion a story of honor, jealousy, romance and tragedy.

What makes the work especially intriguing is its authorship. Unlike most Shakespeare plays, “The Two Noble Kinsmen” is widely accepted as a collaboration between Shakespeare and his younger contemporary, John Fletcher, who would later succeed him as the principal playwright for the celebrated King’s Men acting troupe.

Defying categories

For many years the play was attributed solely to Fletcher, Fagan said, before scholars began recognizing unmistakable traces of Shakespeare’s voice throughout the text.

“There are so many themes of this play that Shakespeare seems to be revisiting,” he said.

Among them is the poignant subplot of the Jailer’s Daughter, whose hopeless love for Palamon sends her into madness, echoing the tragic fate of Ophelia in “Hamlet.” Fagan calls the role “a fascinating character study.”

He also sees the play as evidence of Shakespeare’s late-career willingness to ignore conventional categories. Rather than writing a straightforward comedy or tragedy, Shakespeare blends romance, humor, action and psychological drama into something uniquely his own.

“Later in his career, he just said, ‘Never mind genre,'” Fagan said. “‘I’m going to write what I want.’”

The play challenges the cast of 16 to navigate sudden shifts between broad comedy and emotional intensity. Finding that balance, Fagan said, has been one of the most rewarding aspects of rehearsals.

The festival’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” last month attracted 8,000 patrons, one of the largest audiences in the festival’s history.

“The Two Noble Kinsmen” offers a rare opportunity to encounter Shakespeare at the end of his career — experimenting, collaborating and, perhaps, writing more freely than ever before.