Pride and Prejudice
is one of those texts that everyone thinks they know all about – whether or not
they’ve read Austen’s book. It’s a romance. About well-to-do people with
excessively polite manners. And Colin Firth emerging dripping from a lake.
The Pantaloons, of course, excel at playing with these kinds
of widely-known texts. They take what everyone thinks they know, lightly mock
those expectations, draw out the humour of the original (many of the lines in
this adaptation are taken word for word from the book), and they present their
own Pantaloonish take.
They started the evening at the Underground Theatre by
asking the audience who’d read the book (almost everyone said they had) – and then
by asking who’d said that they’d read the book but had actually just seen an adaptation
(a few honest souls said yes). They told us on more than one occasion that the
famous lake scene was neither in the book nor in their adaptation. And throughout
they slipped constantly and seamlessly between 18th century and 21st
century dialogue, bringing the characters to life and interacting with the
audience. This is what I mean by ‘their own Pantaloonish take’: they don’t just
act the story out in front of you, they step out of it, bring you into it, have
fun with it, and make you engage with it.
The focus of The Pantaloons’ Pride and Prejudice is probably more on the comedy than on the
romance. There are certainly some particularly memorable characterisations,
what with Lady Catherine’s roar, her daughter’s cough, Mary’s leadenness, and a
Mr Collins who wouldn’t be out of place in an episode of Green Wing.
But the scenes that are played more or less straight – such as
Lizzy and Darcy’s argument after his first proposal – are absolutely electric.
And the moment when Wickham is all that Lizzy can think about is both amusing and evocative too.
The music, as always in a Pantaloons show, plays an
important part in creating an atmosphere. But in this production, they make the
most of not having a piano in one
particular scene, as a cast member becomes the piano (and is then ‘played’ by
other cast members). Indeed, an impromptu piano-based pun competition set off
by an audience member threatened to derail the scene at one point – but they
swiftly got back on track and it served to showcase both the quick wit of the
cast and their skill in dealing with and incorporating unexpected distractions.
Aside from one or two rather vocal audience members, it was
a quieter audience than usual when I saw Pride
and Prejudice (Sunday 14th June 2015). But the cast worked hard
to create the same inclusive, energetic atmosphere as always, and – though quiet
– everyone there left with a smile on their face.
So if you think you already know all about Pride and Prejudice and what to expect –
this’ll be different from the adaptations you’ve seen before. You might not get
Colin Firth, but you will have a gloriously entertaining evening.
The Pantaloons are on tour with Pride and Prejudice throughout the summer – see their website www.thepantaloons.co.uk for full tour
details.
Monday 15 June 2015
Wednesday 10 June 2015
The Merchant of Venice - Shakespeare's Globe
The Merchant of Venice
is an uncomfortable play, dealing as it does with racism, religious enmity and
revenge.
It would undoubtedly have had different resonances in Shakespeare’s time from the resonances it has for audiences now. But I can’t imagine it would have been any less uncomfortable back then. Almost every character in this play does or says something questionable, and they are each called out on it by another character. The uncomfortableness is right there in the text.
The conflicts enacted and the complexities of these conflicts are not shied away from in the play. And the Globe’s production of The Merchant of Venice (which I saw Saturday 6th June 2015) really drew this out.
The ending was particularly powerful – with Jessica’s Jewish identity reasserting itself as her father was forced to convert to Christianity – but the lighter moments also explored the same theme. When Launcelot Gobbo got two audience members up on stage to play his conscience and a fiend, it was hilarious. The guy playing the fiend got three rounds of applause all to himself. But it also signified the confusion over what’s ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in the play. Gobbo got the audience shouting out for one side or another, all in fun, until all that could be heard was a great muddled din.
It’s interesting, watching The Merchant of Venice from the position of someone in a multicultural, increasingly secular society, where it is not assumed that the majority of the audience is Christian. The audience at the Globe is not expected to automatically identify with the Christians in the play. But what we do see – particularly in this production – is one culture asserting its dominance over others in troubling ways.
In the Globe’s production, this is not just about race and religion. Antonio’s love for Bassanio is also used to show how homosexuality is suppressed. And the female characters, of course, are quite clearly shown to be trapped in a man’s world.
For once, I didn’t mind that there was no jig at the end here. It would have seemed inappropriate after those troubling final scenes. As it was, we left the theatre still feeling troubled and uncomfortable. The world has not resolved these problems yet.
It would undoubtedly have had different resonances in Shakespeare’s time from the resonances it has for audiences now. But I can’t imagine it would have been any less uncomfortable back then. Almost every character in this play does or says something questionable, and they are each called out on it by another character. The uncomfortableness is right there in the text.
The conflicts enacted and the complexities of these conflicts are not shied away from in the play. And the Globe’s production of The Merchant of Venice (which I saw Saturday 6th June 2015) really drew this out.
The ending was particularly powerful – with Jessica’s Jewish identity reasserting itself as her father was forced to convert to Christianity – but the lighter moments also explored the same theme. When Launcelot Gobbo got two audience members up on stage to play his conscience and a fiend, it was hilarious. The guy playing the fiend got three rounds of applause all to himself. But it also signified the confusion over what’s ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in the play. Gobbo got the audience shouting out for one side or another, all in fun, until all that could be heard was a great muddled din.
It’s interesting, watching The Merchant of Venice from the position of someone in a multicultural, increasingly secular society, where it is not assumed that the majority of the audience is Christian. The audience at the Globe is not expected to automatically identify with the Christians in the play. But what we do see – particularly in this production – is one culture asserting its dominance over others in troubling ways.
In the Globe’s production, this is not just about race and religion. Antonio’s love for Bassanio is also used to show how homosexuality is suppressed. And the female characters, of course, are quite clearly shown to be trapped in a man’s world.
For once, I didn’t mind that there was no jig at the end here. It would have seemed inappropriate after those troubling final scenes. As it was, we left the theatre still feeling troubled and uncomfortable. The world has not resolved these problems yet.
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