at
the Mercury Theatre Colchester
26.09.11
Shakespeare's
late romance is a tricky play. It plunges deep into tragedy before
finding happiness and redemption. It has a bear, a living statue and
several clowns. Set in Sicily and Bohemia, it manages to reference
both the oracle at Delphi and the Russian Empire.
Sue
Lefton's elegant and imaginative production manages most of the mood
swings with aplomb, and keeps its audience gripped by the very human
drama at the heart of the piece.
The
setting is simple – reminiscent of “modern” Shakespeare
stagings of the mid 20th
century. The “watery star” - red and threatening – hangs over a
staircase tower, with a white piano beneath. The Sicilian court is
dressed in well-cut grey; Bohemia is rough-spun and autumnal.
The
two childhood friends who are separated by jealousy are clearly still
“lads” at heart, until the unfounded suspicions of Leontes [a not
particularly noble Tim Treslove, who nonetheless movingly suggested
the anguish of his tortured mind] drive a wedge between him and the
charmer Polixines [Ignatius Anthony]. Impressive work from David
Tarkenter as a wide-boy cheap-jack Autolycus, and Ben Livingstone
[also the musical director] as the Old Shepherd who raises the
abandoned princess as his own. But it was the women who shone here,
especially in the speaking of the verse. Nadia Morgan was a defiant
Hermione; her animated statue was beautifully done. And Shuna Snow
made a superb Paulina, an “audacious lady” indeed, in her
businesslike tailored suit.
The
fresh-faced lovers were nicely brought to life by Emily Woodward and
Fred Lancaster. The Community actors, now a welcome fixture in the
Mercury's season, filled the stage for the rustic revels, and,
sober-suited, heard the dénouement proclaimed.
The
production was full of memorable, meaningful ideas. The schoolboy's
spinning-top, the “fermata” for the first stirring of the
green-eyed monster, the oracle brollies, the shadow bear, and
Perdita's party dress echoing the swaddling clothes of sixteen
summers before.
A
clearly told Winter's Tale, set in a magical fairy-tale landscape of
balloons and billowing silk, umbrellas and Mackintosh chairs.
production photograph: Robert Day
this piece first appeared on The Public Reviews
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