A Message from Richard Width,
Director of Shakespeare's
THE WINTERS TALE

It is requir'd
You do awake your faith - ACT V, SC.III

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For the fantastical conclusion of The Winters Tale to occur, Shakespeare admonishes both his players and his audience to awaken their Faith. What does it mean to have Faith? In our contemporary society filled with car alarms, an unprecedented divorce rate, the desecration of organized religion, acts of terror–and the list goes on–what does it mean to have Faith?

The journey of this piece, as with many of Shakespeare's final plays, depicts a man who loses his faith in his marriage, his wife, and his gods, and the cruelty such a loss mitigates. Too late is his faith restored by the divine, for his actions have already borne their diseased fruit, poisoning his life almost beyond repair.

Yet, all is not lost. While the past cannot ever be forgotten, it can be forgiven. Perhaps this is Shakespeare's gift to us, this understanding of Faith. An understanding which tells us undeniably we are never alone, that which is loved can never be completely lost, that what is good goes on and what is false will fall by the wayside, that there is a benevolent force guiding our paths, aiding us in turning the poison of our lives into medicine; the curse into blessings.

And, regardless of creed, isn't Fait what this season reminds us to embrace?

~ Richard Width, Director, The Winter's Tale - Orlando Shakespeare Festival