Bandits on the Run -- The Shakespeare Tapes
Bandits on the Run queer Shakespeare (or, you know, make it even queer-er) on their delightful EP The Shakespeare Tapes
It's rare to find a group of artists bubbling with as much creative energy as Bandits on the Run. The trio are in the process of writing several musicals and found themselves building a summer tour out of pixie dust and wishes after Adrian Enscoe's summer plans – starring in the Avett Brothers jukebox musical Swept Away – abruptly changed.
When I learned that the band had a new EP based on Shakespeare, it seemed like a no-brainer. These songs, in fact, were written to accompany Peter Anderson's production of As You Like It at Carnegie Mellon University. The play is one of Shakespeare's more gender-bendy comedies, which inspired the trio – Sydney Shepherd (she/her), Adrian Blake Enscoe (he/they), and Regina Strayhorn (she/her) – to upend gender roles in the songs themselves. The Bandits found themselves in Nashville just as the state announced its attempted drag ban – recording these songs was a natural choice.
Even as the Bandits incorporate the Bard into their lyrics, there is a refreshing sense of modernity in The Shakespeare Tapes. With these songs, Shakespeare's characters come to us with a level of insight – and rebellion – that feels more legible to modern listeners. It doesn't hurt that the trio have finely honed the ways their voices play off each other: distinct, but perfectly suited to a larger whole. The Bandits conclude this collection with "Springtime," a sparkling ditty intended to conclude Shakespearean antics with harmony – in all senses of the word. The song borrows from the past, but creates something pleasing to the modern ear – just as queer folks choose what to lift from the past while pursuing a liberated future.
