Film noir. Intrigue, suspense, guns, cars, darkness, saxophone
music. Witches in bins? Shakespearean knock knock jokes? Stories from the
audience? Why not? This is the Pantaloons, after all.
Their take on Macbeth
(which visited Eastbourne’s Underground Theatre on 17/10/15) incorporated all
of the above and much more in a tight, dramatic and inventive production.
I particularly liked the witches. Three puppets in a bin,
like some kind of sinister Sesame Street,
lit from beneath and swaying and cackling in the darkness. Brilliant.
The light (or lack of it) and sound throughout was really
effective – atmospheric, suspenseful, and at times used for comic effect. The
film noir homages, the shadows, the way many of Macbeth’s soliloquies were
delivered in semi-darkness in the midst of the audience – all these combined to
create a much darker show (literally and metaphorically) than we’re used to
from the Pantaloons.
And it was great. There were some pretty powerful moments –
from Macbeth (Chris Smart), Lady Macbeth (Alex Rivers), Macduff (Neil
Jennings), and Malcolm (Hannah Ellis) as our narrator.
I heard several audience members afterwards comment on the
dexterity with which the cast switched between drama and comedy. There’s not a
huge amount of comedy in Macbeth, but
the Pantaloons drew out and made the most of what there is. Kelly Griffiths, in
particular, struck up a great rapport with the audience as the Porter: getting
members of the audience to tell stories of strange goings-on and riffing on
these; telling jokes; encouraging us to join in as guests at the banquet. The
audience always becomes part of the play at a Pantaloons show, and Macbeth was no exception.
A packed house at the Underground Theatre all left the place
buzzing and saying how much they’d enjoyed it. The cast may have sung about the
curse of Macbeth, but luckily the
curse didn’t seem to be in evidence on the night.
The Pantaloons are on tour with Macbeth until the end of
November – see their website www.thepantaloons.co.uk
for full tour details.
Tuesday 20 October 2015
Monday 19 October 2015
Nell Gwynn - Shakespeare's Globe
What a fab end to my Globe-going season this year! Nell Gwynn (which I saw at Shakespeare’s Globe
on 11/10/15) is funny, bawdy, energetic, and fun, with a luminous star turn from
Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the title role.
This is another Globe play about women and theatre (see also The Heresy of Love) – but Nell Gwynn has a much lighter touch, making serious points by making you laugh. The conversation about why Lady Godiva is famous being a case in point.
While based on real people from 17th century London, the play is not afraid of including a few anachronisms and of speaking to the modern Globe audience through references to our own culture. For instance, Dryden describes the plot of Titanic when trying out ideas for plays – and King Charles’ resounding “Down with austerity!” got a big cheer from the audience.
Like most of my favourite Globe productions, Nell Gwynn does not go for all-out naturalism. During the performance, the ‘fourth wall’ was regularly broken – with Nell’s mother even taking beer from the audience at one point – and this created an atmosphere of inclusivity and spontaneity that made the whole afternoon great fun.
Probably the best thing I saw at the Globe this season.
This is another Globe play about women and theatre (see also The Heresy of Love) – but Nell Gwynn has a much lighter touch, making serious points by making you laugh. The conversation about why Lady Godiva is famous being a case in point.
While based on real people from 17th century London, the play is not afraid of including a few anachronisms and of speaking to the modern Globe audience through references to our own culture. For instance, Dryden describes the plot of Titanic when trying out ideas for plays – and King Charles’ resounding “Down with austerity!” got a big cheer from the audience.
Like most of my favourite Globe productions, Nell Gwynn does not go for all-out naturalism. During the performance, the ‘fourth wall’ was regularly broken – with Nell’s mother even taking beer from the audience at one point – and this created an atmosphere of inclusivity and spontaneity that made the whole afternoon great fun.
Probably the best thing I saw at the Globe this season.
Sunday 4 October 2015
The Oresteia - Shakespeare's Globe
So it’s been a summer of Greek theatre this year, what with
the Alemida’s Bakkhai and now The Oresteia at the Globe.
The two productions were done very differently from each other, but you could see that the plays came from the same Ancient Greek tradition. It’s quite unlike any other theatre you see. It’s certainly very different from the Shakespeares and the more modern plays that you usually get at the Globe.
However, I thought The Oresteia (which I saw on 26th September 2015) suited the Globe quite well. I liked the way the cast walked through the yard, and how the chorus merged with the crowd at some points.
Like the Bakkhai, The Oresteia is intense, gory, and morally perplexing. Perhaps in Ancient Greece it was obvious whose side to be on and what view to take of the characters and their actions – but, if so, it’s certainly not so clear today.
Most of all, the impression I was left with was that The Oresteia is a play that hates women. We may have been encouraged to laugh, in this production, at some of the outdated notions on display – parading a giant gold phallus at the end of the play doesn’t allow anyone to take the conclusion seriously – but it remains an uncomfortable story in terms of gender relations and hierarchy.
Even when Clytemnestra kills her husband, another man comes along and claims the credit for it! (I never thought I’d feel so indignant on a savage murderer’s behalf).
I feel like this would have been a good piece to study at A level. To really dig down into its problems and contradictions; to analyse the way they used the space, the visuals, and the sound; to work out how the meaning or meanings were pieced together.
But as it is, it was an interesting, enjoyably perplexing afternoon at the theatre. I may not be a student any more, but I can still appreciate feeling perplexed occasionally.
The two productions were done very differently from each other, but you could see that the plays came from the same Ancient Greek tradition. It’s quite unlike any other theatre you see. It’s certainly very different from the Shakespeares and the more modern plays that you usually get at the Globe.
However, I thought The Oresteia (which I saw on 26th September 2015) suited the Globe quite well. I liked the way the cast walked through the yard, and how the chorus merged with the crowd at some points.
Like the Bakkhai, The Oresteia is intense, gory, and morally perplexing. Perhaps in Ancient Greece it was obvious whose side to be on and what view to take of the characters and their actions – but, if so, it’s certainly not so clear today.
Most of all, the impression I was left with was that The Oresteia is a play that hates women. We may have been encouraged to laugh, in this production, at some of the outdated notions on display – parading a giant gold phallus at the end of the play doesn’t allow anyone to take the conclusion seriously – but it remains an uncomfortable story in terms of gender relations and hierarchy.
Even when Clytemnestra kills her husband, another man comes along and claims the credit for it! (I never thought I’d feel so indignant on a savage murderer’s behalf).
I feel like this would have been a good piece to study at A level. To really dig down into its problems and contradictions; to analyse the way they used the space, the visuals, and the sound; to work out how the meaning or meanings were pieced together.
But as it is, it was an interesting, enjoyably perplexing afternoon at the theatre. I may not be a student any more, but I can still appreciate feeling perplexed occasionally.
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