At Theatr Clwyd |
| Clwyd Theatr Cymru- Troilus and Cressida , New Theatre Cardiff , March 15, 2005 |
| A spectacular transformation of the New Theatre stage, a huge black cauldron of a set, carved in the side of a mountain of coal. The forestage extended well over the orchestra pit adding to the expansiveness of the battlefields of Troy. The mighty frame of actor Joshua Richards emerges, head-to-toe in gleaming gold extended to an even greater height by a golden plumed helmet. His voice is like a call to arms to us all. Terry Hands and William Shakespeare have conjoined together to give us heroism and romance by the bucketful. As the glistening prologue leaves he invites us to “Like or find fault.” There is little to fault in this dazzling Greek and Trojan confrontation. The Greek invasion of Troy, to recapture Helen the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta, stolen away from him by Paris one of King Priam’s heroic and princely sons has been continuing for some seven years when Shakespeare takes us into the action. The not quite so heroic Troilus has withdrawn from the battlefield and contemplates his love for Cressida. Daniel Hawksford with his young good looks brings great truth and vigour to the role and later we see that he can swing a sword as well as any of his older brothers. Pandarus, Cressida’s uncle agrees to bring the two young lovers together. Johnson Willis’ creepy sensuality brilliantly underlines the sexual tensions that run throughout the play. Aeneas portrayed by Robert Perkins is a wise, seen it all before, Trojan commander who has equal command of Shakespeare’s verse which he delivers with great clarity of voice. Battle is over for the day. In order for us to get to know some of the main protagonists, through the voice of Pandarus describing them to Cressida we meet Hector, Adrian Bouchet, fine in form and well drawn in characterisation, a recognisable super-hero. Then Paris to whom Steven Elliot brings a languid touch indicating he'd much prefer to be making love to Helen than making war with her father. In the Greek camp Agamemnon, Joshua Richards now in serious fighting gear, a commanding general whose great body and spirit one would always feel very safe to follow, along with Ulysses and Nestor air their frustration at Achilles’ reluctance to play his full part in the battle. Gerald Murphy’s playing of the role again combines the essential sensuous and callous characteristics that Hands has made one of the key notes of this production. Victoria Pugh’s is a very self-possessed Helen while Leila Crerar’s Cressida is much more naïve, she is full of charm and physicality. She is finally cast away to the plundering Greeks by her uncaring kinsmen in exchange for the insignificant Antenor. There are potent battle scenes, a precision stage fight between Hector and the “valiant as a bear, slow as an elephant” Ajax, another great and fitting performance by Dyfrig Morris. Extremely effective costume design, at times the stage grouping made some great and moving pictures. The splendid use of Hand’s well known lighting design skills and some additional breath taking scenic elements along with Colin Town’s effective music gave the production a feel of expansive theatre that is clearly Clwyd Theatr Cymru’s role to provide. Even so one had to listen very hard to follow the story and there was an unevenness in the cast in both the quality and sound of some of the verse speaking. This also made it a little too difficult to follow the philosophical and moral issues raised within the play. The production’s theatrical bravura however was a very rewarding experience. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
This review has been read 1878 times There are 127 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
