Patrick Page Photo by Julieta Cervantes

In his current project, which he created and performs, Page truly leans into the concept of the villain, bringing to life nine of the greatest villains ever created for the theatre. That they are all great roles can be easily understood when I tell you that they are all characters created by William Shakespeare. The result, created and performed by Page, is called All the Devils Are Here, with the intriguing subtitle: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain. After an acclaimed, award-winning Off-Broadway run last season, Page is taking the show on a limited tour and has made the Guthrie Theater his first stop.

Of course, Page doesn't reenact the entirety of each of the nine villain roles; he draws out a selected speech or two from each of their plays, in all cases a pithy bit of dialogue that sheds light on their villainous nature, and moreover, on the evolution of the villain as conceived by Shakespeare. He presents the villain and the play in which they appear in the order Shakespeare wrote them, thus embarking on a chronological tour of villainy. Between those enactments, Page regales us with tales of Shakespeare's overall development as a playwright, placing each new drama within the context of its creator's personal journey, as well as sharing tidbits from his own remarkable repertoire of performances, which includes playing many of these roles in full productions.

Did Shakespeare actually invent the villain? Yes and no. There were, to be sure, evil characters and characters who committed evil deeds before Shakespeare. What Page sets out to demonstrate, though, is that the notion of the villain as simply a bad person–cut and dried, no rhyme or reason needed–was pretty standard fare before Shakespeare got his hands on them. Page briefly takes the part of one of the "vices" from a morality play like those that were typical fare in small towns such as Shakespeare's Stratford-on-Avon. These "vices" were not people, but character flaws like greed, lust, duplicity or jealousy, depicted by masked actors as the instigators of the characters' immoral choices. Thus, the vice and not the character infected by the vice, is the villain.

But starting early on in his career with Richard III, Shakespeare's villains have evil impulses that are spurred as a response to their own suffering–for Richard III, being born with deformities, for Aaron the Moor in Titus Andronicus, being born a Black man, for Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, being born a Jew. Page follows those three with six more excellent and terrible villains: Claudius (Hamlet), Angelo (Measure for Measure), Iago (Othello), Edmund (King Lear), and both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth from the Scottish play.

Page gives Iago an elaborate presentation, making a case that he fits our contemporary profile of a psychopath. He performs a complete scene, taking the parts both of Iago and Othello, with such a balance of nuance and ferocity that I immediately began wishing to see Page in a full production of the play, and if his stamina would hold up, playing both parts for its entirety. The final character brought to the stage is Prospero, the wizard from The Tempest, the last play Shakespeare wrote without a co-playwright–and also the play from which Page took his show's title. Prospero has the makings of a villain–the abuse he suffered, before the play opens, at the hand of his brother gives him cause, and his mastery of magic provides the tools for inflicting great harm. Indeed, he has inflicted harm. By the play's end, though, Prospero grants forgiveness to his abusers and forswears the further use of magic. A man, thus, may not be predestined to be evil but has the capacity to chose whether or not to follow that course. What does that tell us about the villains in our midst?

Page's performance in every one of the selected excerpts is astonishing, while his banter in between those segments is braced with a clear sense of authority over the scholarship behind the show's premise, along with wit and a tart slice of self-deprecating charm. His performances have received splendid support from Emily Rebholz' costume designs: what at first appears to be everyday streetwear lends itself to a dozen variations that embroider each characterization.

Stacey Derosier's lighting provides wondrous alterations of temperament throughout the show, and Darron L. West's sound design creates an unseen context for the dramatizations, with creaky doors, rattling chains, storm clouds, chimes, and a threatening, steady thrum taking turns to enliven the scenes. Simon Godwin directs this production, and has done so since All the Devils Are Here was first produced as a filmed performance, presented online in 2021, the days of COVID lockdown, by Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C.

Twin Cities audiences are immensely fortunate to have the opportunity to see this wonderful creation, which is equal parts enlightenment and entertainment, devised and performed by a gifted actor. You don't have to know much about Shakespeare, his plays, or the villains under scrutiny, as Page provide a set-up for each segment, and his deep, clarion voice ensures you can hear every word. Though we are only in the second month of the 2024-2025 theater season, I feel confident that at season's end, All the Devils Are Here will be atop many "best of the season" lists, including mine.

All the Devils Are Here runs through November 17, 2024, at Guthrie Theater, McGuire Proscenium Stage, 618 South 2nd Street, Minneapolis MN. For tickets and information, please call 612-377-2224 or visit GuthrieTheater.org. For information on the tour, visit www.allthedevilsplay.com.

Creator: Patrick Page; Director: Simon Goodwin; Scenic Designer: Arnulfo Maldonado; Costume Consultant: Emily Rebholz; Lighting Designer: Stacey Derosier; Sound Designer: Darron L. West; Associate Scenic Designer: Joe Burt; Associate Lighting Designer: Christopher Wong; Associate Sound Designer: Ryan Matthew Hall; Tour Production Manager: Stewart Productions/ Bethany Weinstein Stewart; Production Stage Manager: Natalie Hratko; Executive Producer: Mara Isaacs; Tour Producer: Bryan Hunt; Co-producer: Thomas M. Neff.

Cast: Patrick Page