Archive for the 'Review' Category

Two Not So Star-crossed Lovers

Published
by
Matt
on 4th Dec '08
in Review
. 0 Comments

Director: Neil Bartlett
Cast: James Clyde, David Dawson, Julie Legrand, Anneika Rose and Gyuri Sarossy
Company: Royal Shakespeare Company
Theatre: The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

I left the RSC disappointed with Neil Bartlett’s touring production of Romeo and Juliet.  I agree with the Australian girl behind me I overheard saying “It won’t be too long before I see another Shakespeare done like the Godfather.” However, for me the worst of it was that despite its striking style and elegant touches it never struck home emotionally.

The play starts impressively with the entire cast assembled onstage for a rousing Capulate verses Montigue faceoff.  This time flick-knifes spar to the throb of an onstage band and when Romeo eventually makes his first appearance things are looking promising.  He stews over Rosalind, he emotes and he’s a bit of a mess really, but sadly that’s about as far as things get and the next three hours are rather a let down.

An emotional connection fails to materialise between both Romeo and Mercutio and Romeo and Juliet. This resulted in my favourite part of the play, Mercutios death, being an utter anti-climax and the second half of the play, which lets face it can easily become very boring, became very boring.  I would have thought had the actors not managed to find a connection through rehearsals they could have at least popped out for a few drinks together to try and muster some sort of relationship.  Anneika Rose as Juliet was a replacement actress drafted in on short notice, but surely some form of connection should have occurred over the course of touring?

In the production’s defence I assume that directorially the idea was to go for realism rather than theatrics, which may work in a studio theatre, but in a theatre like the Courtyard you have to be able to pull off something particularly special (see Patrick Stewart in Hamlet).  In Romeo and Juliet Owain Arthur stole the show by transforming Peter, a pretty insignificant character, into a lovely morsel of comic relief by playing him theatrically.  Sadly, the majority of the characters appeared devoid of humour and Nurse, who has the best lines, never once managed to squeeze a laugh out of the audience.

The production does have redeeming features.  Neil Bartlett’s direction is masterful in many respects.  The transitions between scenes are comprised of brilliant lighting arrangements and a lovely click of the fingers motif often followed by the odd soliloquy under a spot.  It’s a perfect example of minimalist theatre at its best.  The use of space by all of the actors is excellent and they move brilliantly around the stage and David Dawson is a potential future star.  Not only does he look great, but his voice is beautiful and remember that even David Tennant’s Hamlet lacked the emotional depth that I crave from theatre.  Just because he has one particular tool missing from his box doesn’t mean that he’s not a terrific actor.

Finally, I’ll leave you with the parting words of the Australian girl.  They sum up this production quite well: “By the end I just didn’t care that they were dead” and neither did I.

The Pleasant Prints

Published
by
Matt
on 19th Aug '08
in Review
. 0 Comments

Despite his best attempt to disguise it as a weather report, Andy Potter has given Henry V a lovely review in the Derby Evening Telegraph:

Shakespeare in the open air and a British summer - the recipe for a fine and relaxing night out. The British weather does its best to compound that idea, ensuring that in the lead-up to this latest production by the Derby Shakespeare Theatre company of Henry V, everyone was watching the skies, hoping that the battlefields of France wouldn’t become a sodden quagmire.

As it happened, we happy few, armed with umbrellas and warming refreshments, witnessed yet another excellent telling of the Bard’s work.

Chris Scott has to carry the full weight of this production on his shoulders as the King intending to fight for the lands of France. He has to be astute, grand, personable and a man whom we believe people would fight for.

Scott pulls this off with ease, cutting a swathe through the performance area at Derby Grammer School. So immersed is he in the character he also sports a rather serious haircut to add to the illusion.

Under long-term Derby Shakespeare member Ian Arnot’s direction, the introduction of the warring sides is handled with simple isolation. Scott aside, Helena Franklin as Princess Katherine enchants with her learning of English, and is coyly believable in the protracted finale.

The production is punctuated with fine performances, Matthew Shepherd, Joe O’Brien, Michael Gaunt, Eddy Chambers and Jack Bamford are just some of the people who provide them and when this production heads to the Minack Theatre in Cornwall at the end of the month it will be a fine advertisement for the talent we have in Derby.

Cry God for Harry! England and St George and look forward to another hundred years of Shakespeare in the City, with the sun shining and not an umbrella in sight!

(Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

Who’s Hamlet? David Tennant’s Hamlet

Published
by
Matt
on 29th Jul '08
in Review
. 1 Comment

Director: Gregory Doran
Cast: Oliver Ford Davis, Penny Downie, Mariah Gale, Patrick Stewart and David Tennant
Company: Royal Shakespeare Company
Theatre: The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Whilst the RSC’s Hamlet doesn’t offer anything particular new, what it does offer is an emphasis on the humanity of the play. Tennant is a perfect Hamlet, but at 37 is perhaps more OU than a Wittenberg undergraduate. However, as demonstrated regularly in Doctor Who, he has a youthful spirit and is therefore capable of capturing the duality of Hamlet; both his playful madness and introspective philosophising. Crouched at the back of the stage facing away from the audience, Hamlet’s first monologue is delivered beautifully amidst squeaking outbursts of grief. His relationship with Horatio is very convincing and Peter de Jersey’s terrific reactions to Hamlet’s subtle mockery of the other characters serves to solidify the friendship between them.

Oliver Ford Davis delivers a show stealing performance, deftly handling the humour of Polonius by inexorably churning out the character’s idiosyncratic observations. He often, very humorously, grinds to a halt during his more introspective moments and other characters find this necessitates a quick reboot. His scene with Ophelia and Laertes was particularly memorable. Meanwhile, Patrick Stewart understates Claudius and as a result I didn’t feel the sense of a kingly authority over the proceedings. However, rather more intriguingly, I perceived a sense of menace bubbling underneath, which culminated in a final sinister shrug of the shoulders before necking the contents of the poisoned chalice. How Stewart retains such subtly in his performance whilst projecting enough of it to communicate with a whole auditorium is a skill that’s beyond me. Finally, the ensemble, seen most recently in Doran’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is yet again terrific, delivering some unforgettable supporting performances including a fantastically suggestive dumb show.

This Hamlet is by no means a groundbreaking production, but clearly that wasn’t the intention. What Doran has very successfully achieved is a great Hamlet with a focus on the very human responses each character has to one another and the events that shape the play.

Hamlet can be seen at The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until the 15th November 2008 before transferring (from the 3rd December until the 10th January) to the Novello Theatre, London. Tickets for the Stratford shows are completely sold out so either try for returns or expect to pay in excess of £250 for a pair on eBay. Tickets for the London run go on sale on the 12th September. For more information about Hamlet and other productions visit the Royal Shakespeare Company or Novello Theatre websites.

Update: On the BBC’s website there is an overview of the critical response to the ‘Doctor Who Hamlet’ accompanied by their own review of Hamlet and you can see a selection of photos from David Tennant’s performance as Hamlet on the Guardian’s website.

Doran Does A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Published
by
Matt
on 7th Jul '08
in Review
. 0 Comments

Director: Gregory Doran
Cast: Joe Dixon, Kathryn Drysdale, Peter de Jersey and Mark Hadfield
Company: Royal Shakespeare Company
Theatre: The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

The atmosphere was magical as I entered the auditorium amongst Francis O’Connor’s shimmering bulby firmament and gigantic dangling moon. However, I did not have to rely on the terrific set to feel a sense of magic. Although I did have to do a double take when the fairies brought on the Indian boy - it looked like they’d brought an actual toddler on stage!

Magic infects the guts of this gorgeous production of Shakespeare’s most performed comedy. Doran focuses upon the rich and varied language of the play as his starting point and the resulting effect is that magic infuses through every aspect of the show. The quintet of lovers were headed up by Kathryn Drysdale with only a touch of the Two Pints of Lager about her (it was only after checking the programme that I was certain she was who I thought she was) and Tom Davey’s hilarious Lysander who had me laughing embarrassingly loudly, I won’t spoil the gags though.

The actors playing the lovers’ mastery of the language released a subtle chime of expression which permeated through the senses; easily avoiding the monotony of clunking rhyme which can often befoul speakers of this type of verse. The fairies’ language slipped between charms and discourse as though the actors were changing gears on a smooth road, whilst further embellishment, almost surplus to requirement, was provided by Paul Englishby’s deliciously opulent score. The mechanicals were incredibly funny, Joe Dixon’s Bottom delivered a particularly superb performance, and their ‘play within a play’ re-energised an audience that were naturally beginning to flag once the lover’s ménage à quatre was resolved. During the final scene, as was common throughout the show, the language was manipulated for laughs, yet space was left for the gags that are found naturally in the text. A production that honoured yet refreshed the play with deeply magical results.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream can be seen at The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until the 13th November 2008. For more information about this and other productions visit the Royal Shakespeare Company website.