Sun 18 Sept – 16:00 – Mistress, maiden, Monsters: a modern masque – Storytelling & song

An enchanting cocktail of soliloquies, storytelling and song.

This performance is a modern reinvention of a 17th  century masque, a quintessentially English form of court entertainment containing storytelling, music, and acting. While masques were originally performed to flatter princes and wealthy individuals, we want to open this form up and use it to challenge audiences to think about how women are portrayed in the art they consume.
In this performance Kat, our storyteller and singer, will perform Desdemona’s, Kate’s, and Olivia’s monologues. Her performance is strongly influenced by her study of historical acting techniques, and will be intersected by short audience discussions about the pieces, which are designed to spark thought and conversation. Punto will accompany her with lute, guitar and live electronics, in order to further immerse the audience in the affects and emotions of the story.
The monologues will be interspersed with songs from the time of Shakespeare and storytelling.

The performance will include monologues from Shakespeare's play presented together with music from the plays and with Punto accompanying Kat throughout as she declames the texts.
In this performance we would like to present the stories of three different female characters, from plays by Shakespeare; Desdemona (Othello), Kate (Taming of the Shrew), & Viola (Twelfth Night). Through these women we pose questions about what their stories tell us about how women were viewed in Shakespeare’s time, and what this means to us when we see them today.

What do Shakespeare’s stories tell us about how women are viewed in today’s society?
Is what they say uncomfortable? Resonant? Relevant?
We hope to create a dialogue with our audience and challenge them to think about how they view women.

What is a Masque? Historically, Masques were a courtly entertainment involving actors, singers and musicians, designed to flatter the European elite.
We take this form and modernize it by building on the structure to pose interesting questions for a modern audience. We want to spark a discussion about the nature of women and how they are portrayed, both historically, and today. In this performance we would like to present the stories of three different female characters, from plays by Shakespeare; Desdemona (Othello), Kate (Taming of the Shrew), & Viola (Twelfth Night).
Through these women we pose questions about what their stories tell us about how women were viewed in Shakespeare’s time, and what this means to us when we see them today.
What do Shakespeare’s stories tell us about how women are viewed in today’s society? Is what they say uncomfortable? Resonant? Relevant?

We hope to create a dialogue with our audience and challenge them to think about how they view women.

Broadwaybaby.com review: https://broadwaybaby.com/shows/mistress-maiden-monster-a-modern-masque/759508

Bio's
Kat Carson
Our soprano, Kat, is English by origin and currently based in Amsterdam. She specialises in Early music, with a passion for the Baroque repertoire, and has worked extensively in the UK and the Netherlands.
After graduating with a first class degree from Sussex University, she moved to Amsterdam and completed her Master in Music Performance at FONTYS Hogeschool voor de Kunsten.
Her thesis was based on interdisciplinary work focused on a combination of Historical Gesture and Modern Movement, an approach that is central to many of Nymphes et Monstres' performances.
Kat has worked with various ensembles, from The Sixteen and Musica Secreta (whose CD ‘Lucrezia Borgia’s Daughter’ she also sang on) to the Galician Group Resonet. She has also performed in some of the largest venues in the UK and the Netherlands, from the Royal Albert Hall to Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht, as well as on both British Radio (radio 3) and Dutch radio (radio 4) on multiple occasions.

Punto Bawono
Punto, our ever-curious lutenist, is currently specializing in the baroque lute with Paul Beier at the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado (Milan, Italy).
He completed his bachelor studies on theorbo, lute, and baroque guitar with Mike Fentross and Joachim Held at the Royal Conservatoire in the Hague.
Punto has played in master classes for many renowned musicians, including Hopkinson Smith, Peter Croton, Michael Chance, Emma Kirkby and David Miller.
He also received coaching on historical performance practice and chamber music from specialists such as Ryo Terakado, Frank de Bruine, Lucia Swarts, Wilbert Hazelzet, Lorenzo Ghielmi, and Susan Williams.
He performs regularly as a soloist, accompanist and basso continuo player, and he is very much appreciated not only for his fantastic musicianship, but also for his endless knowledge.

Nymphes et Monstres
is a collective specialized in French baroque music, but it is also much more than that. Nymphes et Monstres is a concept of what a modern-day performances can and should be, with a view towards a concert experience that goes far beyond the music itself.
By dissecting the pieces we perform, adding declamed text, movement, and at times also video art, we have developed a concert format that manages to bring our viewers deep into the story we tell. We are Kat Carson, Dorota Matejová, Punto Bawono, and Yotam Haran.