Natalie Kaye is Channelling Harpo Marx, Mae West, and Shakespeare All at Once

About This Episode: Playwright and writer Natalie Kaye joins Phil Rickaby to talk about her wildly ambitious new musical, 1920s Walking Around in a Dream, playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival. The show is a screwball comedy set in an imagined 1920s Jazz Age Chicago, and it's a retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, translated not into modern English, but into the heightened, slang-drenched language of the Jazz Age. It's a project Natalie has been quietly nurturing for at least a decade, and hearing her describe its journey from a single translated sonnet to a fully staged musical is genuinely thrilling. This episode explores: How a single translated Shakespeare sonnet launched a decade-long project Why A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Jazz Age are a perfect match Silent film, vaudeville, and the Marx Brothers as creative inspirations The challenge of writing dense, heightened language that audiences can actually follow What it means to finally relinquish control and trust your cast and director And much more! Guest: ✍️ Natalie Kaye Natalie Kaye (she/her) Playwright. Natalie is an award-winning playwright and a published poet. She is also a dancer, choreographer and aerial silks performer. A graduate of York University and the University of Toronto, Natalie has a Masters' in Drama. She has worked in theatre as a producer, director, playwright, actor and dramaturg. Her one-act play, Mood Swings, won first place in the Pat the Dog's 24-hour play contest. The play was workshopped by Pat the Dog in February, 2014 and received a full production at Toronto Fringe in 2016 where it was called "beautiful" "well-executed" and "poetic" by Mooney on Theatre. Her short plays, Universe Inc. and A Toast were produced by Newborn Theatre at the Odds and Ends Festival. She is a member of the Vault Creation Lab's writer's group. She co-wrote #1 Clown Comedy With Victor & Priscilla at Toronto Fringe in 2025. Connect with Natalie Kaye: 🌐 Website: unspokentheatrecompany.weebly.com 📸 Instagram: @unspokentheatrecompany Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, SteveRead transcript