| In Shakespeare's day, some of the open-air theaters frequented by so many of his countrymen were named after animals -- The Red Bull, The Swan, The Boar's Head and Red Lion among them. Since we are the "Riders", we thought it appropriate to re-name the Caesar Rodney Theater "The Horse" when it serves as our Elizabethan-style winter home. Shakespeare's King's Men also went to a different venue, like Blackfriars, Middle Temple, or to Court to present their cold-weather fare. The Horse consists of a twenty-foot wide thrust stage extending sixteen feet from our apron. With our main act curtain closed, we create a two-story Tiring House complete with a stage right and left entrance on either side of a curtained center entrance or reveal. Above is an ample balcony fronted by two immense pillars topped by a pediment. The entire facade is outlined with six smaller pillars, and decorated according to the tenor of the play. The audience is partitioned to create a circular plan surrounding the stage on three sides. Lighting is arranged to continuously shine straight down from overhead, emulating the effect of a sunlit sky. With audience and actors equally illuminated, the actors consider the space positively electric. |
| An Elizabethan Theater called The Horse at Caesar Rodney |
| Shakespeare's Plays we have presented in The Horse: Taming of the Shrew -'89-'90 Much Ado About Nothing -'90-'91 Hamlet - '91-'92 All's Well That Ends Well - '92-'93 The Merchant of Venice - '94-'95 Macbeth - '95-'96 The Comedy of Errors - '96-'97 The Tragedy of King Lear - '98-'99 Twelfth Night - '99-'00 Taming of the Shrew - '01-'02 The Tragedy of Julius Caesar - '02-03 As You Like It - '05-'06 ******************* A Midsummer Night's Dream ('87-'88), Othello ('93-'94), The Tempest ('97-'98), The Tragedy of Richard III ('00-'01), and A Midsummer Night's Dream ('03-'04), Othello ('04-'05), and The Tempest ('06-'07) played in the Caesar Rodney Theater on a modern stage. |
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| The Horse - The Merchant of Venice - 1995 |