A Fairy Tale and a Falling Library, a Bloody Ghost, and a Rabbit-Skinning: Shakespeare (and Ford) on Stage in 2009

During an eleven day stretch in August 2009 I managed to see eight Shakespeare productions (three in Stratford, three at the Globe, one at the Old Vic, and one at the National Theatre) along with a London Fringe version of Ford's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore. Out of this batch emerged some memorable choices and images.

Director Joanna Turner's 'Tis Pity at the White Bear Theatre for the Baseless Fabric Company was my second excursion away from the West End to see this script performed (the first was a 2005 version at the Southwark Playhouse). Both shows had world-class Annabellas: in 2005 Mariah Gale (recently Ophelia and Celia for the RSC) and in 2009 Siobhan McMillan who charted powerfully the stages in the journey of this figure from her original incestuous love to repentance, self-sacrifice, and a horrible death at the hands of her brother. The 2005 version with only nine actors was heavily pared back (the Bergetto sub-plot was gone completely), whereas Turner, with fifteen actors, presented a nearly uncut script yet told the story efficiently and clearly in just under two hours (and as a bonus playgoers as they entered were treated to a heart-shaped chocolate wrapped in red). The small playing space in this pub theatre did pose some problems. In particular, with no playing area above, the scene in which Annabella drops the letter written in blood that is picked up by the friar (5.1) had to be adjusted so that, standing on the same level, she made a short stage cross and dropped it on the floor, then retreated. The other scenes scripted above, however, did make sense when played on the same level, and overall the intimacy of the space made possible the admirable speed and clarity of the presentation. As played here the Bergetto-Poggio-Philotis plot made excellent sense and, to my surprise, I found Donado as played by Robbie Telfer of special interest. Another surprise came in the final scene where (as in 2005) Giovanni entered not with a heart on his dagger (as in the famous stage direction) but with a heart held in his hand dripping blood. Perhaps the shish kabob image a few feet from seated playgoers was deemed too risky.

Matthew Dunster's Troilus and Cressida at the Globe was presented in classical dress with an occasional exception, most notably in 4.1 when Antenor was returned to Troy clad in a black hood and jumpsuit so as to evoke the image of a 2009 political prisoner. Several scenes in this often puzzling script worked well for me. The sending up of Ajax (Chinna Wodu) by the other Greeks (2.3) was a delight, as was the Helen-Paris encounter with Pandarus (3.1) where the scene started with a decadent foursome (the two lovers lounging on pillows with two boys) and climaxed with much singing and dancing to Pandarus' song (though the scripted lyrics were gone). The failed attempt to prevent Hector (Christopher Colquhoun) from going to battle (5.3) was a another strong scene with high passion from Hector, Troilus, Andromache, and Cassandra (the latter made her dire prophecy of Hector's fate by assembling on the floor Hector's helmet and armor so as to suggest a dead body). Here and elsewhere Paul Stocker's Troilus was strongest in moments of high emotion, as when in act four he fell to his knees with a scream at hearing that Cressida was to be exchanged for Antenor. Paul Hunter's one-eyed Thersites was suitably scabrous and deflationary, and Matthew Kelly got much mileage out of a campy Pandarus.

Several of Dunster's choices puzzled me. Pandarus' distinctive Epilogue in which he bequeaths his diseases to the playgoers was replaced by a pastiche of quotations from his previous speeches, including lines from the 3.1 song that we had not heard and repeated emphasis on love as "a generation of vipers"¹ (3.1.133). Presumably the goal was to...