At Fluellen Theatre |
| Fluellen Theatre Company- The Duchess of Malfi , Arts Wing, Swansea Grand Theatre , March 16, 2004 |
| This review first appeared in the Western Mail Having last encountered John Webster's brooding study of political intrigue and deceit during my schooldays, I was more han a little hesitant about tackling this production from the Swansea-based Fluellen Theatre Company, an outfit whose trademark "in-the-round" performances have done for the classics what the likes of Volcano and Frantic Assembly have done for physical theatre. Upon entering the performance space, one could have been forgiven for thinking that one had stumbled into a workshop session hosted by Volcano: clearly inspired by the line "nothing but noise and folly can keep me in my right wits", director Peter Richards set the scene by having the cast shamble around in T-shirts, twitching, mumbling and scratching themselves until presented with a large chest containing theatrical costumes, whereupon the action - such as it was - began. Though overlong and more than a little irritating - prompting embarrassed giggles and much biting of lower lips from those of us to whom the more extreme conventions of physical theatre have long been a source of amusement - it was a clever framing device and one which drew the audience into the story right from the start. Unlike previous Fluellen productions in which the in-the-round approach has entailed the cast exiting and entering the performance space via the doors, on this occasion the entire cast stayed the course for the entire two hours and fifteen minutes, sitting around the edge of the space on upturned storage boxes while watching the story unfold - rather more attentively than some members of the audience who, when they were not checking their wristwatches, were discreetly trying to ward off DVT by doing foot exercises. Would an interval have helped? Probably: this was heavy going by any standards, but Peter Richards and his nine-strong cast - led by Bethan Thomas as the Duchess, with contributions from David Norton, Rob Statham, Gemma Rowlands and Sian Denty (whose machine-gun delivery marred an otherwise bewitching performance) - deserve credit for tackling such a demanding and challenging piece. The fact that some of us were not quite up to the challenge may well say more about our own butterfly minds and weak bladders than about the play itself - or maybe not. |
Reviewed by: Graham Williams |
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