JULIETA CERVANTES
The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton is presenting Patrick Page’s one-man show, “All the Devils Are Here.”
In “All the Devils Are Here,” the one-man show that Tony-nominated actor Patrick Page is currently presenting at The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, he tells us, early on, that William Shakespeare “investigated evil more deeply … than virtually anyone, before or since. In fact, for all intents and purposes, Shakespeare invented the character we now call The Villain.”
Page says that Frank and Claire Underwood, from TV’s “House of Cards” series, are modeled on Richard III and Lady Macbeth, respectively; Logan Roy, from “Succession,” on King Lear; Scar, from “The Lion King,” on the usurping King Claudius from “Hamlet.” And Macbeth’s descendants include Stannis Baratheon (“Game of Thrones”), Walter White (“Breaking Bad”) and Tony Soprano (“The Sopranos”).
JULIETA CERVANTES
Patrick Page in “All the Devils Are Here.”
In modern times, he says, you “simply expect your villains to have complex psychologies, believable backstories, meaningful motivations. But none of that existed … before Shakespeare began writing in 1590, and all of it … was firmly in place when he wrapped up his investigation of human evil in 1611.”
Is this totally true? Maybe a bit of an exaggeration? I’m not sure. But that is a question for scholars, not theater-goers. Page, who first presented this show off-Broadway in 2023, uses the assertion as the jumping-off point for what is basically a lecture — and a very engaging one, at that — on the subject, with many segments in which he acts out scenes from the relevant plays, sometimes playing more than one character himself. With his deep, rumbling voice and commanding stage presence, he provides memorable glimpses of evil in excerpts from “Macbeth,” “Hamlet,” “Othello,” “Richard III,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Titus Andronicus” and more.
Page is the creator of the show, which also has a director (Simon Godwin), a lighting designer (Stacey Derosier), a sound designer (Darron L. West), a costume designer (Emily Rebholz) and a scenic designer (Arnulfo Maldonado). All add minimal elements that enhance the drama of the play segments.
The show proceeds chronologically. It starts with some discussion of the morality plays Shakespeare probably saw in his youth, and the work of a playwriting contemporary of his, Christopher Marlowe, who achieved fame before he did and surely influenced him. Then Page looks at some of Shakespeare’s most notable villains, in the order that their plays were written. The chronological structure helps add a storytelling element to the lecture, as we see Shakespeare’s thinking about what a villain is, or can be, evolve through the years, reaching a kind of peak with the utterly sociopathic Iago (from “Othello”) and the villainous pair from “Macbeth”: the title character and Lady Macbeth.
“Their tragedy is not that they are evil; their tragedy is that, hand in hand, they … choose … evil,” says Page, slowing down these last three words for dramatic effect.
JULIETA CERVANTES
Patrick Page in “All the Devils Are Here.”
The mention of Iago’s sociopathy, meanwhile, leads to some discussion of sociopathy itself. Page says that Martha Stout, in her 2005 book “The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us,” wrote that about one in every 25 people is a sociopath. “That means, in today’s audience, there are likely 11 of you out there, behaving quite normally, wearing what Dr. Hervey Cleckley called ‘the mask of sanity,’ ” Page said.
Page ends the show with Shakespeare’s last play, “The Tempest,” not because it contains one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains — it doesn’t — but because of the way Shakespeare handles the subject of revenge in it. That is something that he had been “wrestling with” throughout his career, Page says.
“The Tempest” also, incidentally, includes the line that gives the show its title: “Hell is empty and all the devils are here” (referring to the damage created by a shipwreck, but maybe serving a metaphorical purpose as well).
Page is sticking around for a talkback after every show in the McCarter engagement, sitting on a chair and answering audience members’ questions for about 20 minutes. In the talkback I saw, he amiably expounded on topics ranging from his inspiration for creating the show to the value of teaching Shakespeare in the classroom, and the possibility of “All the Devils Are Here” being made into a film.
One person asked which Shakespearean villains Page had considered including in the show, but ended up leaving out. He mentioned a handful of them, including Falstaff (from “Henry IV, Parts 1-2”) and Malvolio (from “Twelfth Night”).
“But I am writing the book of ‘All the Devils Are Here,’ ” Page added. “And all of the (villains) will be discussed in the book.”
The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton will present “All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain” at its Berlind Theatre through Aug. 30. Visit mccarter.org.
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