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All’s Well That Ends Well

Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed – 8th November 2019

★★★★

“Ceri-Lyn Cissone steals the comedic limelight with her natural gift and assorted accents”

“All’s Well That Ends Well” has always been one of Shakespeare’s least performed works. Classified as one of his ‘problem plays’ it shifts between comedy, fantasy and psychological drama. The evidence that Shakespeare intended it to be a comedy is in the happy ending, as the title would suggest. Criticised as being a rather contrived and truncated conclusion, Tom Littler’s inventive production at the Jermyn Street Theatre adds a subtle twist that instils a touch of much needed pathos.

The action is transposed to 1970s London, Paris and Florence. When his Bertram’s father dies, he rejects his friends, abandons his mother, and flees his childhood home. But the orphaned Helena, in love with him since childhood, refuses to give up hope. Following in her father’s footsteps, she becomes a doctor, saves a monarch’s life, and crosses half of Europe in the passionate pursuit of her happiness.

This is an intimate production, scaled down to a cast of six. The setting is evoked more by the soundtrack than Neil Irish and Anett Black’s slightly baffling set design. Predominated by Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ album from the mid seventies, the music is intercut with live piano accompaniment – a leitmotif echoing the iconic riffs of the recorded music. Stefan Bednarczyk and Ceri-Lyn Cissone duet and duel on a pair of upright pianos, seamlessly weaving in and out of the action. Bednarczyk’s arrangements underscore not just the dialogue but the emotional core of the characters that is often lost in the delivery.

The crux is persuading the audience why Helena should be so in love with the outwardly unloveable Bertram. Gavin Fowler shows us a chink in the armour of his roguish indifference to Helena that sheds a ray of hope. We’re not sure that Helena sees this, but her dogged determination to bag her man is matched by Hannah Morrish’s solid performance. Multi-rolling Miranda Foster delivers the most emotional punch as Helena’s newly widowed mother and the ailing Queen (normally a king) of France. Cured from her illness by Helena, Foster is like a starry-eyed convert before reclaiming her steely grasp on the proceedings.

But all in all, much of the musicality of Shakespeare’s language is missing, and the rhythm often fails to ignite the frequent tongue-twisters and tricks of the dialogue. The plot is slight so it’s all in the text which doesn’t always match the magic created by the musical atmosphere.

But what does shine is the comedy, and the torchbearers are the peripheral characters. Robert Mountford’s swaggering Parolles is a gust of fresh air as he relishes his cowardly downfall, while Ceri-Lyn Cissone steals the comedic limelight with her natural gift and assorted accents.

With themes of social mobility, deception and sexual misconduct that are still relevant today, this is a play that mixes dark fairytale with light humour; but, despite moments of magic, the peaks and troughs are never fully reached.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Matt Pereira

All’s Well That Ends Well

Jermyn Street Theatre until 30th November 2019

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Agnes Colander: An Attempt At Life | ★★★★ | February 2019

Mary’s Babies | ★★★ | March 2019

Pictures Of Dorian Gray (A) | ★★★ | June 2019

Pictures Of Dorian Gray (B) | ★★★ | June 2019

Pictures Of Dorian Gray (C) | ★★★★ | June 2019

Pictures Of Dorian Gray (D) | ★★ | June 2019

For Services Rendered | ★★★★★ | September 2019

The Ice Cream Boys | ★★★★ | October 2019

Click here to see our most recent reviews

★★★★

“a polished and worthwhile show that sheds new light on a familiar tale”

European Arts Company’s production of The Trials of Oscar Wilde opened at Windsor Theatre Royal last night before beginning a nationwide tour that takes in some twenty three venues from Taunton to Wolverhampton and runs until June 1st. This is top-notch court-room drama, with a refreshingly simple set design (Tom Paris) which provides an ideal backdrop for a talented ensemble cast of just four.

The company have revived a much-praised production that toured in 2014 after a sell-out run at the Trafalgar Studios. The story of Wilde’s tragic fall after being prosecuted for “gross indecency with other male persons” is familiar enough, after innumerable biographies and films, including a celebrated version starring Stephen Fry which appeared in 1997. Wilde conducted a tempestuous four year affair with Lord Alfred Douglas (‘Bosie’), the son of the Marquess of Queensberry, who as a result accused the celebrated playwright of ‘posing as a somdomite’ (sic).

Wilde attempted to defend himself against this accusation in court, but withdrew his prosecution when details of his affairs with rent boys emerged in court. A public prosecution followed soon after. What distinguishes The Trials from other accounts is that it was co-written by Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland, using 85,000 words of direct shorthand transcript from the trial, which only came to light in 2000.

What light do Wilde’s very own words shed on this most celebrated of celebrity trials, and how well does this new production tell the tale? In Act One, the libel trial, Wilde unsurprisingly emerges as a boastful, and conceited figure, his evidence peppered with just the kind of bon mots you might expect. But some of his responses are terse too, and by the public prosecution in the second act, repeated slips make his panic plain. John Gorick reprises his role from four years ago. In spite of the posturing and flash waistcoats (splendid costumes by Anett Black), his Wilde is a slightly distant, at times almost glacial figure, trapped in the dazzling lights of a mess of his own making.

Wilde’s own words condemn him and the establishment gleefully brings him down. Much as Wilde admits he loved Douglas, who coined the phrase ‘the love that dare not speak its name’, he proclaims that he is the only person he ever adored. Three other cast members, (Rupert Mason, Benjamin Darlington and Patrick Knox) take turns to play prosecution and defence, rent boy and chamber maid. Rupert Mason is particularly effective as Wilde’s smug accuser in the criminal trial. Benjamin Darlington particularly garners sympathy as Charles Parker, the rent boy who was plainly besotted by his time with Wilde.

Co-written and directed by John O’Connor, this is a polished and worthwhile show that sheds new light on a familiar tale.

Reviewed by David Woodward

Photography by David Bartholomew

Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed – 8th November 2019

★★★★

“Ceri-Lyn Cissone steals the comedic limelight with her natural gift and assorted accents”

But all in all, much of the musicality of Shakespeare’s language is missing, and the rhythm often fails to ignite the frequent tongue-twisters and tricks of the dialogue. The plot is slight so it’s all in the text which doesn’t always match the magic created by the musical atmosphere.

But what does shine is the comedy, and the torchbearers are the peripheral characters. Robert Mountford’s swaggering Parolles is a gust of fresh air as he relishes his cowardly downfall, while Ceri-Lyn Cissone steals the comedic limelight with her natural gift and assorted accents.

With themes of social mobility, deception and sexual misconduct that are still relevant today, this is a play that mixes dark fairytale with light humour; but, despite moments of magic, the peaks and troughs are never fully reached.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Matt Pereira

All’s Well That Ends Well

Jermyn Street Theatre until 30th November 2019

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Theatre Royal Windsor

Reviewed – 26th March 2019

★★★★

“a polished and worthwhile show that sheds new light on a familiar tale”

Co-written and directed by John O’Connor, this is a polished and worthwhile show that sheds new light on a familiar tale.

Reviewed by David Woodward

Photography by David Bartholomew

The Trials of Oscar Wilde

Theatre Royal Windsor until 30th March then UK Tour continues

Other shows covered by this reviewer: