Reviews 2010
Reviews 2010
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by William Shakespeare, directed by Des McAnuff
Stratford Festival, Festival Theatre, Stratford
June 7-October 31, 2010
“True it is that we have seen better days” (AYLI, Act 2)
You know something is wrong with a production of “As You Like It” when the only parts of the show that work are the few scenes between Touchstone and Audrey. Yet, that is the situation with this extraordinarily tedious production directed by Des McAnuff. That the comedy runs for three hours and 15 minutes with two intermissions already suggests something is amiss. It is not merely the over-leisurely pacing but also poor casting and design choices that makes one of Shakespeare’s liveliest comedies so soporific.
According to his programme note, McAnuff states, “In my discussions with scenic designer Debra Hanson, we chose as our setting the 1920s: an era that saw the rise both of movements of surrealism and of extremist political movements - communism, anarchism and, of course, fascism - which opposed all progressive genres of art.” This might be a good idea if it where carried out well, but here it is not. If Duke Senior’s court represents the anti-surrealist fascists, why do some courtiers have wrapped heads as in Magritte’s “The Lovers” or wolf’s heads. Why later at the fascist court do three large representations of Magritte’s huge eye from “The False Mirror” descend to represent their surveillance? So, Ms. Hanson, does surrealism symbolize the court or not? If they are fascists, why is their insignia the double-headed eagle of the Habsburgs and Romanovs? If the time is the 1920s, why do Dana Osborne’s costumes make them look like Nazis of the 1930’s and ‘40s?
Hanson’s Forest of Arden is a major disappointment since it looks more like a department store than anything representing nature. At the back of the stage are what look like three large display cases--two showing a Magritte-like blue sky with clouds, the middle one encasing the dead tree of Salvador Dali’s “Persistence of Time” but without the melting watch on the one outstretched limb. But don’t worry about time. The huge mechanical clock that dominates the set of the fascist court is unaccountably present throughout the forest scenes, directly contradicting Orlando’s statement that “There’s no clock in the forest.”
Meanwhile, Osborne’s costumes give no indication or a rustic setting. Duke Frederick, also played by Tom Rooney, wear a three-piece suit and matching top coat, perfect for the city and not even slightly broken down. That same goes for the other forest costumes along with the use of bicycles and scooters. Except for the sounds of sheep baaing, there is no indication that the exiled court has been living in nature for months. Not even the shepherds and Audrey who are said to be dirty are at all besmirched. If this is supposed t be Shakespeare’s nature that changes one’s attitude to the world, it seems more like a city park. One wonders where the exiled court managed to get an upright piano not to mention an portable organ in the “desert” or Arden and how they were foresighted enough all to bring and change into white formal wear (including Rosalind with a wedding dress!) when fleeing the court.
All this would be easier to take if the acting were excellent, but, except for a few notable cases, it was not. Ben Carlson as Touchstone and Lucy Peacock in the nearly silent role of Audrey, stole the show. This was because Carlson once again shows his facility for making the wittiness of Shakespeare’s most difficult lines appear as clear as day and because Peacock’s adeptness at mime captured the endearing quality of innocent unseemliness of this country lass immediately.
Unfortunately, they are not the main characters. Andrea Runge, the least effective cast member in “The Importance of Being Earnest” last year, now plays Rosalind in a manner no different from how she played Cecily. All she has going for her is a general enthusiasm, otherwise she delivers all her lines in the same breathless, unnuanced manner that given her vast amount of her stage time soon becomes tiresome. The same is true of Paul Nolan as her lover Orlando. Though Nolan was super as Tony in “West Side Story” last year, it doesn’t follow that he’s a good enough Shakespearean actor for such a long role as Orlando. He carries on the same “Golly Gee!” attitude to the point of monotony. It also doesn’t help that the chemistry between him and Runge is nil.
The surprise bad performance comes from Brent Carver as Jacques. His character is supposed to stand out because is the exception to the rule that life in nature brings out love. In him it only increases his melancholy. Yet, at no point did Carver ever appear melancholy, only curious. He delivered the “Seven Ages” speech as if it were amusing rather than a summary of the pointlessness of life.
Meanwhile, Mike Shara was wasted in the role of Oliver de Boys and Tom Rooney did not exude sufficient evil as Duke Frederick nor sufficient goodness as Duke Senior. On the other hand, Brian Tree was a dependable Adam, Randy Hughson a naturally comic Corin and Ian Lake a very funny Silvius. Among the women, Cara Ricketts had a more modulated voice and gave more pointed line readings as Celia than did Runge as Rosalind. Dalal Badr, in contrast, was an unpleasantly whiney Phoebe.
Des McAnuff showed little sense of pacing. He began the show with too long a joke (Adam struggling with lifting rocks) to little effect and then repeated the technique after the first interval with Colin and Touchstone listening to endless baaing to evoke a modest comic response. Except for the dance number for Touchstone and Audrey, Justin Ellington’s forgettable tunes only lengthen an already long evening. The jaunty tune played after Old Adam’s death was hardly appropriate to the moment.
Many potential audience members will be attracted to “As You Like It” as one of Shakespeare’s best-known comedies. But if you are looking for hearty laughter or witty insight into human nature instead of vast expanses of tedium, you’d better wait until another production comes around.
©Christopher Hoile
Note: This review is a Stage Door exclusive.
Photo: Brent Carver. ©David Hou.
2010-06-08
As You Like It