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Author
Shakespeare
Director
Michael
Sargent
Company
Centurion
Theatre Company
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Courtyard Theatre
27 October - 21 November 2004 |
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On 14th
November the Courtyard had
a problem with its electricity
so the stage-lighting was
locked into one position that
was clear and bright but monochrome.
The heating also seemed to
have been affected also. This
might have dampened all spirits
including the actors, and
at first it seemd to have
done, but as the performance
proceeded it gained more and
more life and energy and in
the end more than compensated
for the discomfiture experienced
by all.
This was a young production
of As
You Like It,
which compensates for the
lack of nuance in speaking
of the lines and unrefined
movement on the stage not
only with energy but with
credibility. The young lovers
look as they should and the
sexual chemistry is made more
real by young people who could
be speaking directly from
experience.
After an initially engaging
scene between Orlando and
the aging Adam the production
settled into a rather dull
mode for quite a while as
the court-politics became
established, who's in and
who's out. But once in the
forest of Arden and hormones
are racing in the second half
things picked up tremendously.
This enabled Charlotte Endacott
to enchant both as Rosalind
and to provoke and equivocate
as Ganymede. Her performance
gained stature througout as
did Philip Battley's Orlando
whose star-struck loverdom
gradually fitted him more
and more. Even David Alderman
as Oliver melted. His initial
coldness of heart and manner
seemed too artificial but
his transformation into nice-guy
suited him much better and
he came into his own also
in the second part.
Some of the actors had several
roles and some managed to
suggest a wide range of cameos.
James Brough was a macho wrestler,
a camp courtier and a convincing
yokel each equally convincing,
just as Paul Thomas managed
to leap from the most arch
of French courtiers bristling
with hauteur to the engaging
junior shepherd Silvius whose
almost hopeless love for the
Ganymede-obsessed Phebe (Trudi
Jackson) was the most touching
part of the production. Richard
Unwin's rumbustuous Touchstone
gained comic pace and effervescence
as the night wore and wild
flirtations with the seductively-bosomed
Audrey (Nicola Cussons) pretty
much stole every scene they
were in.
David McGillivray's Jaques
was a surprise but the overwhelming
ennui that he injected in
the Seven Ages speed was a
wonderful performance. You
could feel the court's despair
with the infections melancholy.
The production suggests a
Victorian theme through its
costumes, though the forest
rustics are in no time. The
music however was at odds
with this, dominated as it
was by a smoochy night-club
saxophone piece. This juxtaposition
worked mostly though the songs,
though well sung, were dreadful
with the strangest of word-emphases
and angular melodies intended
to match the prevailing sound-track.
These were a mistake and threw
away these gems that are one
of the crowing characteristics
of this relatively early Shakespeare
play. This is a pity as Shakespeare
puts into his songs not only
some of his best lines, but
frequently also a poeticised
summary and commentary on
the play. The songs would
be better spoken if better
music could not be composed.
The programme did not reveal
the name of the composer,
if there was one.
The production never rose
to give the ending the glow
it can sometimes have when
Shakespeare paints a kind
of golden age when all are
reconciled, but it did manage
a good deal of charm, energy
and provided a good vehicle
for some very promising young
theatrical talents.
Roderick
Swanston |
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