TWELFTH NIGHT

It has a reputation as one of the most robust comedies in the Shakespearean canon for good reason and, as any of the heaps of academic material covering the play will prove, rich in theme for those wanting to delve into it.

Watermill Theatre’s rendition of Twelfth Night is steeped in a jazz era aesthetic. It’s a very canny way of treating the play, where Malvolio’s puritanism is channelled through Prohibition-era context, Sir Toby is a veteran of the speak-easy, and Duke Orsino’s court is a lavish jazz club. This does not compromise Watermill’s tradition of pitching a very modern take on the play. As with their other shows, the play is accompanied by live music and a casually progressive attitude to changing the sex of characters, even in a play about fluid gender roles: Sir Toby as explicitly female works all the better for inflaming Malvolio’s disapproval at her behaviour. Much of the company’s music here are so stylish 20s-esque covers of modern songs which encapsulate the crashing together of old and new that the production is trying to achieve.

I’m always surprised at how well drag and cross-dressing still work at eliciting laughter. It’s as much to do with execution as it is taboo thankfully, or Twelfth Night would be at severe risk of dating far worse than the other comedies. In this case, the troupe of actors know not to simply rely on the novelty of cross-dressing but bring all their talents for timing, suggestion, bawdiness, and – come Malvolio’s big reveal – spectacle to bear to provoke laughter.

Malvolio is of course one of those parts that can see big returns from an audience and Peter Dukes proves ample to the task of inhabiting the by turns stuffy and licentious steward. He’s the anvil upon which the success of the play is either forged or broken. It is decidedly the former. Not to say this talented group of actors don’t all pull their weight around Dukes. Solid across the board, I must once again laud Lauryn Redding in particular (she steals several scenes in Romeo and Juliet too) who rings every last laugh out of Sir Toby. A very assured and entertaining performance of a classic.     ★★★★☆   Fenton Coulthurst  7^th July 2017

ROMEO & JULIET

Of all the major works of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet always posed a problem for me because it concerned that most loathsome of creatures, the lovelorn teenager. I’ve seen renditions of the play that take a very reverential tone regarding the star-crossed lovers and they are unilaterally po-faced and tiresome. No, a good take on Romeo and Juliet recognises that a certain degree of wit and irony need to be present to undercut the affectation and posturing of the impassioned youths. This staging by the Watermill theatre takes just the right approach, balancing romance with a certain much-needed irreverence.

The troupe of performers is made up of skilled actor-musicians and this production is staged with frequent musical accompaniment (as is Twelfth Night, which Watermill are touring paired alongside this). The contemporary music covers are included, very successfully, to embellish the ‘teenage kicks’ feel of the performance which is all sulky and argumentative adolescence.

I have ample praise to lavish on the leads: Stuart Wilde is an unapologetically forlorn and impetuous Romeo .who successfully walks the line between affectation and sincerity, whilst Aruhan Galieva delivers a strident and very mature Juliet whose independent spirit does a lot to counter the dated misogyny of the play. However, strong as the central pair is, I think this version works well as an ensemble piece.

My ambivalence to narrowly tradition productions of Romeo and Juliet is that the two main characters are in many ways the least interesting and surely most repetitious elements of the play. I tend to rate productions more on their Tybalts and Mercutios. This is the first time I feel obliged to go out of my way to bring up Capulet, the Nurse, Benvolio, and Friar Laurence on top of the aforementioned.

Jamie Satterthwaite’s Capulet is foppish but still suitably threatening as a household tyrant, Rebecca Lee is colourfully put-upon as Laurence, and Victoria Blunt as Benvolio is a massive boon at working the audience whilst also selling a scene. I think most will be left with a strong impression from Lauryn Redding as the Nurse, however, who wins every scene she is in. All told this is one of the most lively and engaging productions of Romeo and Juliet I’ve seen with a clearly thought-through staging and a very powerful cast.   ★★★★☆   Fenton Coulthurst   6^th July 2017