.Challenge Accepted

Bravo to a director who refuses to condescend. I refer to Charles Pasternak, director of SCS’s production of Pericles. A director who trusts the intelligence of his audience and offers us the rarely performed curiosity of a late Renaissance genius. The language may be 400 years old, but the situations—well, some of them—are as fresh as AI.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre (played by the always astonishing Paige Lindsey White), is a master of bad choices. Discovering that the woman he loves has been in an incestuous relationship with her father, Antiochus King of Antioch, Pericles abandons his romantic ambitions and flees his kingdom Tyre, leaving its governance to a servant.

A shipwreck beaches him in Tarsus, where he wins a joust (in this production, a rousing testosterone-driven dance contest) that results in his marriage with a lovely royal. Corey Jones, cast as the incestuous Antiochus and the sly King Simonides, is a commanding presence in both roles.

One year later Pericles sets out on a return voyage to Tyre, this time with his pregnant wife, Thaisa (Lily Kops). Enter another storm, during which Thaisa gives birth, but appears not to survive the ordeal and is buried at sea. Pericles next abandons his baby daughter Marina, leaving her in the care of foster parents while he attempts to lose his grief in wandering. Special praise for Desiree Rogers, whose compelling vocal work powers her Dionyza. Many echoes of King Lear in this play, the rhyming riddles and songs spun by the king’s Fool come to mind. The lost daughter, the rash judgments, the tearful reunions, the betrayal of family—and of oneself.

Fast forward 16 years to Act 2, wherein the foster parents sell the teenage Marina (Allie Pratt) to a brothel, (it’s complicated) run by the excellent and very funny Mike Ryan, with help from a jaded and foul-mouthed madam—another terrific comic turn by Lily Kops, whose range appears inexhaustible. Wild comedy ensues surrounding the hilarious though repellant situation of the brothel denizens attempting to dispatch Marina’s virginity so that she can be of use in the trade. But Marina’s virtue wins out and she spends the rest of her time in the suburbs giving music lessons. Until rescued by pirates (let that sink in for a moment).

Shakespeare ultimately brings the two wandering souls together. As Marina and Pericles share their stories they discover that they are in fact father and daughter. And there’s more wonderment, but I won’t spoil the various theatrical miracles. Let’s just say that a major reunion ensues, filled with poetic lines and moving work by the entire ensemble.

Although at this point White’s charismatic voice and consummate skill simply overwhelm every other character on the stage. Would that her underwhelming garments were a match for her character’s power and rapture. Her character, a king, deserved better. Costumer Erin Reed Carter’s style can be described as part vintage grunge, part Asiatic-postmodern. But I grant that it has to be minimal enough to put on and take off on the fly.

Two dozen characters played by 11 actors! Gives new meaning to the word “repertory!” Pasternak handles all this by having actors literally changing into another character while still saying the lines of the previous one. But if you blink, it can blur into soft focus. Here’s where repertory may have been stretched to its limits.

In one of his smartest directorial moves, Pasternak has put the words of the narrator/Chorus (originally portrayed by an onstage character called John Gower) into the mouths of the entire cast. When the scenes change, the actors face the audience and explain to us what has transpired between the last episode and what we are about to see. It’s an excellent and effective device to help keep us in the loop of a complex set of events and locations.

Kudos to fearless director Charles Pasternak for daring so much and throwing the ball into our court. Here’s a chance to savor a rarely produced artwork. No true devotée of Shakespeare will miss it.

Pericles, by William Shakespeare and George Wilkins, directed by Charles Pasternak. Performed by Santa Cruz Shakespeare at the Audrey Stanley Grove through Aug. 30. santacruzshakespeare.org