Shakespeare’s ‘Pericles’ tugs at heartstrings at Navy Pier in Chicago

To see a play performed by the esteemed Royal Shakespeare Company, you typically would have to fly to Stratford-upon-Avon in England. Not this fall. A new partnership with Chicago Shakespeare Theater brings one of the Bard’s less-well-known plays, “Pericles,” to CST’s Navy Pier theater complex.

This is the first time in 30 years that Royal Shakespeare Company has brought a show to the Windy City, and if you catch the play before its final performance on Dec. 7, trust me, you’ll be drawn in by the story, acting, lighting and pure emotion, especially if you familiarize yourself a bit with the storyline in advance.

I suggest you obtain a bit of advance knowledge as I would with most operas sung in a foreign language. Shakespeare’s dialogue is in English, of course, but the wording can sometimes be difficult to grasp, which keeps many from attending the Bard’s works, unfortunately.

As I would have suggested prior to the Woodstock Shakespeare Players’ inaugural season this past summer, the sheer poetry and beauty of Shakespeare’s words are worth experiencing live. When the dialogue is presented by actors who use their gestures, movements, expressions and delivery to fully get across the meaning, as was the case in the Woodstock Square this summer and now with the Navy Pier production, it’s theatrical magic.

“Pericles” involves the epic journey of Prince Pericles (Zach Wyatt) of Tyre, who comes to Antioch (not the Illinois city, of course) to solve a difficult riddle. King Antiochus (Felix Hayes) will let his daughter marry the first man who answers the riddle, but anyone who is unsuccessful will be killed. Even with servants displaying skulls atop their spears to show the results of previous suitors’ efforts, Pericles is not dissuaded, but when he determines that the riddle’s true answer also could result in his death if uttered, he asks to delay his response, and the king gives him 40 days. Pericles flees before the king’s subsequent order to avoid a 40-day wait and have Pericles killed immediately can be carried out.

At the city of Tarsus, Pericles’ innate goodness is made clear when he tells Governor Cleon (Chukwuma Omambala) and his wife, Dionyza (Gabby Wong), that he has brought food to them to help with the famine plaguing their city (“our ships … are stor’d with corn to make your needy bread, and give them life whom hunger starv’d half dead”).

After sharing his bounty, Pericles leaves, and a shipwreck brings him to the shores of Pentapolis, where he is rescued by fishermen. King Simonides (Christian Patterson) is giving his daughter Thaisa’s hand in marriage to the winner of a jousting contest. Thaisa (Leah Haile) and her father are pleased when Pericles wins, Simonides also hoping for a potential grandchild.

Some months later, when Pericles heads back with his now-pregnant wife to Tyre, another storm arises, this time resulting in Thaisa’s death while giving birth to a daughter. Because of tradition, Pericles reluctantly accepts his wife being buried at sea. After Pericles goes back to Tarsus, Cleon and Dionyza graciously agree to the request of the new widower/father, and they raise his baby daughter, now called Marina, clearly an appropriate moniker for one born at sea.

As to what happens with Marina, Pericles and even Thaisa, I’ll save that for you to experience. Suffice it to say that post-intermission there are many more plot twists – including murderous intent by another character or two and nonexplicit scenes at a brothel – some bringing chuckles, others eliciting a tear or two.

There’s a lot to recommend here. Under the sure directing hand of Royal Shakespeare Company co-artistic director Tamara Harvey, this ensemble cast of 16 is excellent, with Wyatt, Patterson, Hayes and Rachelle Diedericks (narrating and taking on an additional role in the story later) being the standouts. Accompanied by five instrumentalists for scene changes, dances and even a bit of singing – though this is not a traditional musical – the focus is appropriately on the performers, and with the quality of this cast, that’s where it should be.

With all the varied locations and action, which could present a challenge for staging, it’s important to note you will not see huge backdrops, video projections or set pieces differentiating Antioch, Tarsus, Pentapolis, the sea. Instead, the set is limited to the use of numerous ropes, a few smaller set pieces, lighted areas under the stage, and well-thought-out lighting effects (praise to lighting designer Ryan Day), all these items working together to spotlight – sometimes literally – the events taking place (from jousting to shipwrecks).

I truly enjoyed this performance, and I strongly recommend you check out “Pericles” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, but I can’t force you to attend. After all, I stop short at (Navy) Pier pressure.

• Paul Lockwood is a communications consultant at Health Care Service Corporation in Chicago, as well as a local theater actor, singer, award-winning columnist, Grace Lutheran Church (Woodstock) and Toastmasters member, and past president of TownSquare Players. He and his wife have lived in Woodstock for over 23 years.

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: Shakespeare’s “Pericles” presented by England’s Royal Shakespeare Company

• WHERE: Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, Courtyard Theater, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago

• WHEN: Playing through Dec. 7

• INFORMATION: 312-595-5600, www.chicagoshakes.com