Darryl Maximilian Robinson Celebrates The 33rd Anniversary of His Original One-Man Show of Shakespeare and Time-Travel Comedy "A Bit Of The Bard"!

May 01, 2020

The Beginning of A Solo Shakespearean Adventure!: From The Friday May 8, 1987 Edition of THE VAIL DAILY OF VAIL, COLORADO, here is Part One of feature and preview story by VALERIE J. SMITH on the very first performance of veteran and award-winning Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles stage actor and director DARRYL MAXIMILIAN ROBINSON as His Most Revered Lordship, SIR RICHARD DRURY KEMP-KEAN in his original one-man show of Shakespeare and time-travel comedy, A BIT OF THE BARD.

LOS ANGELES - It was exactly 33 years ago this May ( indeed, May 9, 1987 ) that Chicago-born and stage-trained Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project Founder DARRYL MAXIMILIAN ROBINSON entered upon a small nightclub / restaurant stage in Eagle-Vail, Colorado and presented an hour-long, one-man show of several famed speeches from the works of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE as told by his time-traveling, comedic character creation His Most Revered Lordship, SIR RICHARD DRURY KEMP-KEAN on a bill entitled: A BIT OF THE BARD! Mr. Robinson, who had previously played leading and featured classical theatre roles with THE NATIONAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY TOUR OF NEW YORK, THE STAGEPLAYERS OF NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, THE INDIANAPOLIS SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL-IN-THE-PARK and THE KING RICHARD'S FAIRE OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN, was not entirely sure that his solo flight in Shakespeare's works would be well-received or particularly successful. But once audiences, theatre presenters and literary arts educators became highly-receptive to it, for 15 years ( 1987 -2001 ) Mr. Robinson would tour the show to colleges, high schools, libraries, festivals, restaurants, pubs and EVEN PRIVATE LIVING ROOMS!...if the price was right! In acknowledgement of the show that for many years funded the operation of his multi-racial, non-Equity professional classical and contemporary chamber theatre EXCALIBER PRODUCTIONS, LTD. ( in St. Louis, Missouri and Louisville, Kentucky ) and THE EXCALIBER SHAKESPEARE COMPANY OF CHICAGO, highlighted here are photos, reviews and articles on DARRYL MAXIMILIAN ROBINSON AS SIR RICHARD DRURY KEMP-KEAN IN A BIT OF THE BARD.