| Performance details | Venue: Friargate Theatre, York Dates: Mon 13 - Sat 18 March Tickets: 拢10 / 拢7.50 concessions (unwaged) Box office: 0845 961 3000 |
The venue is so small that every actor's movement is just right in front of you, therefore, two thumbs up for Sarah Finch's excellent performance of Hermione! She successfully presents herself, especially, at the statue scene - the audience could almost believe that it really is a statue of the dead queen Hermione there rather than a breathing human being! It says on the poster that this is 'a powerful story of jealousy and resurrection', and indeed, the audience can smell a very strong taste of bursting jealousy from Leontes, Hermione's husband, when she is sitting chatting with Polixenes. Tom Peters' Leontes is occasionally too loud, as if 'a howling angry husband' is all that he is. Notwithstanding, later on his dramatic change is a huge contrast to his behaviours in the first half, the tragic half, of the play.听听听听听
 | | Perdita with a clown |
This production uses as few as six actors, which means everyone has to play more than one character. They use props, hairstyles and costumes to help differentiate one character from the other, but there's still one confusing point - that is where Nigel Forde plays both Polixenes (the one being falsely accused) and Antigonus (one of Leontes' servants). For a while, it looks like Polixenes, rather than Antigonus, is holding the baby daughter deserted by Leontes, to go on an exile. But then again, if the audience know the play well, they wouldn't be confused at all anyway. The young couple Perdita (Rhona Scott-Black) and Florizel (Adam Stone) are the sweetest in the world! It is clearly revealed that they're every inch in love with each other, and all that they want is just to be together! Rhona Scott-Black has such a lovely voice, too. In a word, this part of the production is one of the most pleasant scenes. In the middle of the play, there are some clowns scenes, you can be prepared to try not to laugh your heads off - excellent comic elements and a few sing-along tunes. Everyone on stage looks so joyful and for a moment it looks like it is a trouble-free world. The blocks on the stage provide nice visual variations by turning into a table, a hilly path, or even a see-saw! However, sometimes they look too gigantic for such a small venue. Wanyu Lin |
