“It’s middle-of-the-road Shakespeare on display here though, with jokes found in physicality more than the text”
Wilton’s Music Hall is the perfect home for this fun and frivolous production of Twelfth Night, transferring after a popular run at the Watermill Theatre. The production oozes old-fashioned charm, and, with its talented troupe of actor-musicians performing a play so preoccupied with the power of music, is an energetic joy to behold.
Sir Toby Belch is our MC in ‘The Elephant Jazz Club’, and wittily guides us through some lovely swing numbers to kick off the show. Each cast member gets to show off some of their musical and dancing talents early on, and the range of instruments on show, and the number of instruments played by each member of the ensemble is incredible. For fans of swing covers of recent hits, this is the show for you. Orsino (Jamie Satterthwaite) charges recently shipwrecked twin-in-disguise Viola (Rebecca Lee) to woo the mourning Olivia on his behalf, little knowing that Viola actually loves him, and, as the show goes on, that Olivia is more interested in the servant than the master. This comedy is less about plot and more about antics, with Belch, Aguecheek and Feste providing enough mischief conning Malvolio (played with relish by Peter Dukes) to keep this audience roaring with laughter.
The songs, interwoven throughout, are gorgeous. Suits, hats and cigarettes are on full display to build the image of a twenties jazz club, and, though not providing a clear context for the story, nor adding anything other than a pretty aesthetic, the era seems to invite audiences to kick off their shoes and have some fun.
On the whole, the ensemble work hard and give energetic and exaggerated performances. Mike Slader makes for a comically over-the-top Aguecheek, reminiscent of a greasy Crispin Glover, and Dukes’ Malvolio is stoic and uptight, making his downfall (in all its drag glory) even greater to see. It’s middle-of-the-road Shakespeare on display here though, with jokes found in physicality more than the text, and most players’ delivery feels a little too theatrical and forced at times. A touch more variety in delivery, or belief in what is being said, may help the meaning to shine through clearer.
Lusciously lit in this beautiful space makes this production a hit though, and the audience were whooping and cheering raucously as the ensemble took their bows. Cracking comedy and tunes you can’t help tap your feet to are the order of the day, and this production delivers on all fronts.
“as the physical theatre of the misfiring affections became a bawdy, raucous spectacle the audience is utterly won over”
With lighting rigs exposed, no scenery but a looming fabric moon overhead, the stripped back stage at Wilton’s Music Hall provides the perfect setting for The Faction’s stripped back Midsummer Night’s Dream. Disposing of the customary prettiness, director Mark Leipacher aims to expose new textual truths within the play, namely that the war-ravaged Athenians of the period would have been willingly distracted by the aristocratic nuptials of the plot, just as (he claims) we’re happily diverted by Royal events in the midst of looming climate change.
So it is that the four young lovers are drawn into the Athenian woods to be engulfed by the magic and mayhem of fairies and artisan players, similarly attracted to promised festivities. With only the bare text, everyday clothes, a few accents and their own physicality (great credit here to The Faction’s movement director, Richard James Neale) the ensemble take on the characters’ conflicting desires. Demetrius (Christopher York) expects to marry Hermia (Lowri Izzard), who prefers Lysander (Jeremy Ang Jones) while Helena (Laura Evelyn) pursues Demetrius. With the introduction of Oberon’s magical herbs, desires turn upside down with the Fairy Queen Titania lusting after an oafishly braying Bottom (Christopher Hughes) and Helena is distressed to find herself now pursued by both Lysander and Demetrius.
For such a complex plot, the idea of stripping back to the bare text is an interesting one, it unveils the darker side of the play as, divested of finery, the actions seem more lustful and even boorish, perhaps a truer reflection of many romantic experiences. The movement is brilliant in places, creating scene and mood through background dance, replacing the traditional entrances and exits. However, the most important motif in the play is contrast, something this production didn’t really have, at least between the groups of characters. Men wore floral shirts, but aside from that the cast wore much the same as the audience. If Egeus can become Puck through the simple application of a backwards baseball cap, something similar could have helped others.
Sound and lighting design (Yaiza Varona and Ben Jacobs) strain hard to guide the audience through the changes and good use is made of Wilton’s split level stage to delineate roles. There are also some fascinating interpretations from the cast. Lowri Izzard is crystal clear vocally but also in her characterisations of Hermia, Starveling and Cobweb. Linda Marlowe’s degenerate Puck is ingenious, malevolent, yet likeable against the odds. In any case, by the second half, as the physical theatre of the misfiring affections became a bawdy, raucous spectacle the audience is utterly won over. Whether it was The Faction, the Music Hall or the comedy itself that does the winning, it hardly matters.
Reviewed by Dominic Gettins
Photography by The Other Richard
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Wilton’s Music Hall until 30th June
Related
Previously reviewed productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
