20 February – 29 March

One of the problems concerning Shakespeare’s ‘problem plays’ is deciding precisely what the problem is. Commentators quibble about this or that line reading, and that of course applies across the canon.  But the late plays have been dismissed as the last splutterings of a tired mind, devoid of original thought; or, conversely, the late flowering of genius with a master’s sense of what can be left out and what needs to be kept in. So given this lack of consensus the apparent problem for a director is in fact an opportunity to grasp the thing by the neck and give it a stern talking-to before putting it in front of an audience.

In this production Heidi Vaughan doesn’t mince around, but goes for bold strokes. Leontes isn’t merely a nasty jealous husband, his jealousy is beyond reason; he is in the grip of a full-blown madness. Felix Hayes fills his Leontes with all-consuming, eye swiveling and body contorting passion. He is, like Othello, on the rack.

Sicilia is in full, modern dress, party mode at the opening, which makes Leontes’ sudden change of tone all the more shocking. When the source of authority and power goes mad the country is thrown into chaos and its best friend, Polixenes, king of Bohemia (Bill Ward) is forced into a fraught and perplexed escape. (The echoes of present day international politics will not be lost)

Some judicious re-gendering, unobtrusive cuts and reordering of scenes and the occasional peeping through the ‘fourth wall’ to address the audience show Ms Vaughan in control of the idiosyncrasies of the Tobacco Factory space. In the one trick she allows herself, which is a reminder of her time with Travelling Light, the shadow of Leontes stands in for the bear that consumes Antigonus. It’s a deft stroke, which bridges the worlds of Sicilia and Bohemia. The dangers of the forest, it suggests, are as nothing to the dangers harboured within us. Then having Mr.Hayes come on as Chorus in the guise of Time reminds us that one of the central themes of the play concerns the healing balm of time. It’s a neat stitching together of the two notoriously different moods of the play.

The jollity and relative innocence of Bohemia – even the roguish Autolycus of Stu McLoughlin has a certain uncomplicated charm – is offered as the perfect nursery for the royal blood of Perdita to grow in the bosom of nature. Finally, even given the absurdity of the reuniting of Hermione and Leontes, I was moved by the unveiling of the ‘statue’ which was done with pared-back simplicity.

Ms Vaughan’s policy of using local actors has evidently paid off and this show was of a quality to match anything I have seen of late at Stratford. Shakespeare At The Tobacco Factory is back and looking as healthy as ever.

★★★★☆  Graham Wyles, 26 February 2025

Photography credit: Charlie Swinbourne