“this production forgoes the emotional depth of the play and instead gives a simplistic rendition that shies away from the exploration of character”
I once had the misfortune of taking a three hour long Shakespeare exam. It’s not something I’d recommend – but even I will admit that it taught me a few important lessons about Shakespeare’s plays. Namely, that they are a) long, b) many, and c) so complex that analysis of a single scene yields more meaning than can be written down in three hours.
Richard II, though lesser known, is no less interesting to examine than Hamlet or Macbeth, and really deserves more exposure. It’s a shame, therefore, that Joshua Jewkes’ contemporary reimagining does not bring any of its many layers to life. Ostensibly set in the vague world of ‘the modern political landscape’, it follows the demise of King Richard as years of flattery begin to weaken his leadership. His decision to banish his cousin Henry Bolingbroke and reignite conflict in Ireland spark a revolution which is led by friend and foe alike. Though he is undoubtedly vain and tyrannical, the political drama that follows exposes Richard’s vulnerability and, ultimately, his sympathetic nature.
The immediate problem with this production is that this vulnerability is not apparent. Joshua King, who plays Richard, seems somewhat miscast in the role: whilst he does capture Richard’s brazen overconfidence, he does not bring any emotional depth. Richard seems one dimensional, and King’s overhasty delivery means that important moments are almost unnoticeable. The empathetic aspects of his character are never properly expressed; there is no one to truly empathise with.
A second difficulty is presented by the fact that the lines rarely sound meaningful. Too often it sounds as though the actors are reciting words that they have memorised as opposed to expressing the genuine thoughts of a character. Very few of the cast escape this trap, but luckily there are some solid performances which help alleviate these uninspired moments. Melanie Beckley is commanding and powerful as Bolingbroke, whilst Peter Hardingham captures the thoughtful wisdom of John of Gaunt, Henry’s father, very well. But the only consistent performance comes from Hannah Victory as the Duke of York. Victory is utterly convincing throughout, and her impassioned delivery brings the high stakes that are missing elsewhere.
Some aspects of Jewkes’ production do work well. The stage, lined with audience on both sides and bare except for a raised platform, evokes the atmosphere of a claustrophobic court or council chamber. The space is used efficiently, particularly during the well-choreographed and well-executed fight scenes. Jewkes also adapts the text effectively. About an hour is cut from the play’s run time, but the plot is still easy enough to follow and the characterisation is clear and consistent. Ultimately, however, this production forgoes the emotional depth of the play and instead gives a simplistic rendition that shies away from the exploration of character. There are some enjoyable moments, but they are too few and far between truly bring the play or its characters to life.
“Artistic Director Paul Hart and his youthful players have magnificently overcome the twin risks of over-familiarity and complacency in this joyful new production”
Buried deep in the English countryside is a little theatre that consistently beguiles. The 200-seat Watermill just outside Newbury stages its own plays twelve times each year. Casts live together throughout every production and shows are marked by both excellent ensemble work and by high levels of creativity and innovation.
But how to shine new light on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream? ‘I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows’. And so do we all, for the play is a favourite of almost every outdoor theatre season, consistently ranking in the top three of all the Bard’s thirty seven plays. We love to laugh again (and again) at the play within a play, with its hackneyed ‘rude mechanicals’, two fingers held up to make another chink in the wall.
Watermill Artistic Director Paul Hart and his youthful players have magnificently overcome the twin risks of over-familiarity and complacency in this joyful new production. Appropriately enough for a play about make-believe, the show opens with a shadowy view of theatre fly ropes, part of a stage design by Kate Lias. Rope tricks of various kinds help make the magic in this celebratory show which also has a strong commitment to diversity.
Sign language is an integral part of the production, since the cast includes a co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Theatre Company in a speaking role. Sophie Stone’s partially signed scenes with Evening Standard award winning Tyrone Huntley are delightful, the signing very much enhancing the show. As well as being a witty and persuasive actor, Tyrone Huntley has a fine singing voice. Singing and signing also combine in a moving ensemble number after the interval.
There’s more magic in the mix when shadow play begins behind a spangly red curtain that descends rapidly to transform the enchanted wood into a nightclub. It’s a good setting for some witty musical interpolations. Is this the first Midsummer Night’s Dream to feature Rodgers and Hart’s ‘Blue Moon’? In other scenes the always engaging Eva Feiler as Puck cleverly works dolls to underline the point that we are witnessing a dream time, engineered by otherworldly creatures for their own amusement.
Victoria Blunt was brilliant as Bottom, switching from broad Lancashire to a booming Gielgud parody as the most thespish of the ‘rude mechanicals’ who finally get to perform their play within a play right at the end of the show.
As Oberon, ‘King of Shadows’ Jamie Satterthwaite seemed at first a little too insubstantial for the patriarchal world of Athens where a father let alone a king of the fairies ‘should be as a god’ but he gained authority as the evening went on.
Some careful cuts and rearrangements are characteristic of the close reading that’s evidently gone into a show that quite bursts with ideas. The night this reviewer saw it, Emma McDonald’s role as Titania was magnificently covered at very short notice by Rebecca Lee. She appeared to be all but word-perfect, with a vampish authority that was most engaging. Her substitution may have understandably explained a slightly hectic breathlessness that characterised more than one scene in the performance I saw.
The show ends in a magnificently farcical version of ‘Pyramus & Thisbe’, the play within. Talented Offue Okegbe doubles Snout and Theseus, as well as playing an instrument, like many other cast members. His ‘wall’ is much too funny a surprise to spoil in this review. Joey Hickman was an owlish Demetrius as well as the show’s musical director.
But for a bizarrely unexpected flash of light across the crowd, Tom White’s lighting design was highly effective, particularly so in the final scene ‘If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumbered here While these visions did appear.’
On press night, a good part of the audience came whooping to its feet at the end of this big-hearted and dazzling show. Cast and a large supporting crew, including magic, movement and BSL advisers, all deserve huge congratulation for their contributions to such a delightful Dream.
