Doctor Faustus, The Globe

Mephistopheles and Faustus share a scene

The story of Faust, a scholar who trades his soul with the devil in return for knowledge and power, is a classic German legend and has inspired many works. Doctor Faustus, Marlowe’s 17^th century English play is perhaps one of the most famous interpretations, and certainly the most famous Elizabethan text - aside from Shakespeare of course.

This production at the Globe has all the familiar drama, but the costume and set department is what really shines through. From exquisite Elizabethan dress to a costume not out of place on the set of ‘Chicago’ and to giant furry goats on stilts, they have excelled. Some hard-line critics might dislike this, as sometimes its humour verges on the ridiculous, such as the extending demon emerging from one character behind, but the audience loved it, and it didn’t overly detract from the serious message about sin and greed.

The extras and smaller characters worked hard, portraying a vast number of roles. 

hell goats in action

The black clad book bearer in the opening scene were really effective, the coordinated book slamming creating an air of nervousness, which lent to Faustus’s angsty monologue criticising conventional study. Later they were transformed into demons from hell, playing on modern anxieties with white masks and doll like figures. My personal favourite was the portrayal of the seven deadly sins – I really did feel I was sinning, just by watching.

The actors were also fantastic. Paul Hilton shone as Doctor Faustus, managing the comic scenes but also the dark moments of regret, his performance seeming entirely natural, really getting under the skin of Faustus, leading to the final climatic scene which sees him begging for forgiveness. The other lead, Mephistopheles was taken by Arthur Darvill, otherwise known as Rory from Doctor Who. It was great to see him break out of the underdog role, and take on a character so complex. He could have shown more nastiness, his famous line ‘this is hell, nor am I out of it’ lacked the chilling menace one would expect, but his contemplative stares into the audience definitely conveyed his evil nature (and pleased the fan girls at the front). The audience felt in turns humour, pity and mistrust as his character fluctuated from obedient servant to Faustus to cruel and taunting.

Faustus performs onstage magic

Some elements, admittedly, failed to impress. I found the battle between the good and bad angels a little sidelined and unbelievable, and considering the importance of this to the play, essentially about Faustus’s struggle between good and evil, this was a shame. I found the good angel particularly offensive, she was shouty and whiny, and I could understand why Faustus lent towards the side of evil. Also, the portrayal of Lucifer seemed odd – he was constantly held up by two agents of hell and just seemed like a tired old man rather than the actual personification of actual evil.

Nevertheless, I generally really enjoyed this production. It was constantly engaging with its ambitious set, costume and special effects, and the actors were generally on fine form. Maybe this is not the definitive interpretation but it does what theatre really should – entertains and captures the imagination of its audience. 

All's Well That End's Well - The Globe

‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ is notorious for being one of Shakespeare’s least loved plays, and it is certainly one of the least performed. However, the Globe’s summer production did its best to dispel this negativity, and judging by the reactions of the audience, from the cheers to guffaws and heartfelt ‘awws’, it was successful. Of course, being performed at the Globe the success of the production had a head start, the setting and atmosphere supporting to Shakespeare’s beautiful prose, and making the experience all the more authentic. The use of lavish Jacobean dress and period instruments heightened this sense of steeping back in time.

The acting itself, however, was hit and miss. The performance of James Garnon as Parolles was fantastic, his comic deliverance easing the gap between Shakespearian language and that of today. The audience roared with laughter at his interaction with the irate Lafeu, stealing the limelight from less convincing dialogues from the leads, Helena and Bertram – though Shakespeare himself is at some fault here, as the instant changes in Bertram’s love seem fickle verging on ridiculous. At some points Sam Crane as Bertram and Naomi Cranston as Helena do manage to deliver their lines with force and feeling giving insight into their complex characters – the arrogant yet confused nobleman and the meek yet powerful ‘Modern Woman’, as Helena was dubbed by George Bernard Shaw. But, at other times they fall into overacting, using exaggerated gestures to aid the translation of their lines to the audience – a habit sadly all too common with Shakespearian productions.

Cranston and Dee in performance

Nevertheless, some stellar performances were to be had, notably from Janie Dee playing the Countess of Roussilon, who injected humour and vitality into a role usually taken by much older women.

At times this production was lacking, but it was undeniably an enjoyable and exciting performance, introducing a new era of audience to a previously underappreciated play. 

Frankenstein - 10/04/2011

Today I saw ‘Frankenstein’ at the National Theatre. The production, directed by Danny Boyle, has received excellent reviews and I’ll really have to concur. Boyle made a really interesting – perhaps risky- decision in casting Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller as both Frankenstein and the creature on alternating nights, and while I only saw one side of this pairing, after talking to other people it seems that this decision has paid off (and probably increased ticket sales!)

Danny Boyle has said that he chose to cast both men to show their interconnectedness, "Frankenstein is creating life without women. The idea is to bring two actors as close to that notion as possible. And how do you do that? In terms of the performance, Frankenstein and the Creature literally create each other: every other night they reinhabit each other." This definitely comes across in the performance and at times the roles are confused and it’s hard to tell- who is man and who is monster? This is especially tangible in the last scene when the creature goes from taunting and powerful, leading Frankenstein Northwards to inevitable doom, to a quivering wreck begging for compassion and straight back again.

The subject addressed in the story is a fascinating one – the ability of man to create human life. This has interested scientists for generations, and arguably the recent advances in stem cell research are a step in this direction. However the play does serve as a warning against this. With its references to Paradise Lost and original sin, it warns of meddling in the natural order created by God. The original novel, written by Mary Shelley in 1818 had the subtitle, ‘The Modern Prometheus’, referring to the Greek myth in which Prometheus creates man and steals fire for them from Zeus who punished him by chaining him to a mountain and allowing birds to eat his liver every day. Supposedly this was a warning about the expansion of man during the industrial revolution, a phenomenon opposed by countless 19^th Century writers, such as Wordsworth and Hardy. Alternatively, Frankenstein could be a lesson in parenting – don’t starve your child of compassion because they will become a rampaging lunatic. Maybe.

Miller and Cumberbatch in action

The lunatic in question, Frankenstein’s creature was played fantastically by Benedict Cumberbatch, who has recently shot to fame after playing the main role in BBC’s ‘Sherlock’, but he’s actually been hanging around for a while- he was in Atonement and the Other Boleyn Girl as well as a lot of television and theatre. The play opened with him writing about on the stage for about 10 minutes completely naked. Watching this confirmed to me that acting is a career I could never do- it requires too much confidence and too much nudity. The audience could literally see everything (and I can confirm that he’s not *cough cough* that well endowed). Later in the play Frankenstein’s second creation, the Bride, also appears stark naked. Nevertheless the brilliant acting meant that it didn’t seem all that scandalous, it seemed appropriate for the play. Cumberbatch really showed the pains and difficulty of the birth and subsequent discovery of the world the creature undergoes and throughout the play he maintained a slightly odd voice and gait showing him to be an outcast from society, even though he actually becomes well educated.

It can be quite hard for the audience to know who to sympathise with and who is to blame for the disastrous occurrences. The creature’s perusal of Frankenstein and murder of innocent people – Frankenstein’s younger brother William being one of them – obviously casts him in a bad light. But then, Frankenstein did abandon him and leave him to be beaten and shunned.

Jonny Lee Miller was also excellent as Frankenstein, even if this is a slightly less exciting role. His confusion of emotions – pride, lust, fear, often in quick succession were displayed well and his interaction with the creature seemed genuine, not staged. There’s only one comment to really make about the casting- the rest of the Frankenstein family are black and he is clearly not, which just seemed a bit odd. While most of the other roles were minor they were well played with some fun cast spotting to be done – Frankenstein senior is played by George Harris who is Kingsley Shacklebot in Harry Potter, and the blind old man who teaches the creature (and is later burned by him) is played by Karl Johnson aka Twister from Lark Rise to Candleford.

I’ve always loved the National Theatre and this production was no exception. The set design was really interesting, complete with classic NT revolving stage and odd angles. Everything went so smoothly and loads of locations were shown, from the graveyards of Scotland to Frozen Mountains of Switzerland. My particular favourite was the home of the old man who teaches the creature which came down from above the stage and was a mesh like construction which was partly transparent. Also, as people were coming in to sit down there was a man in period dress ringing a bell which was ominous and really set the mood – I jumped everytime I heard it. Another brilliant feature was during the creature’s discovery scene- fake birds on string looked very real and rain and snow fell on the stage which was great.

Basically, I really really loved this play and everyone should go and see it. It was broadcast to cinemas live during March so its probably accessible on Youtube. It was such an interesting adaptation of a classic story, it was scary and sad and funny and the set design and atmosphere was perfect. My enjoyment was probably increased by my massive Beneditch Cumberbatch crush (massive. I literally squealed when he looked my way during the claps) but I’m pretty sure everyone will love it – you can’t argue with a standing ovation. 

The Children's Hour, Comedy Theatre, London

The Comedy Theatre

The Comedy Theatre in Leicester square is traditional in look, with tiered red velour seating facing the large, open stage. The set served the play well, while only one room was on show a door along the back wall and tall set showed it to be a much larger setting. Also, set change was done with the characters still on stage, by people in period dress, and this was done without interrupting the performance. While it looks nice, however, the seating is quite claustrophobic and there is of course the age old problem of ‘that big head in front’.

I was drawn to the production itself somewhat superficially by Keira Knightley, who alongside Elisabeth Moss as Martha Dobie are a pair subject to a childish accusation with dire consequences. The lie in question is of lesbianism. It is set in 1930s New England, at a time when this was only just emerging as an issue, and the play draws attention to an aspect of prejudice not normally touched on. It was interesting, if not a little scary to see the characters reactions- controlled disgust, showing how far the world has come. It was written by Lillian Hellman and first played in 1934, when the issue was so controversial it was banned in England and various American states.

The cast was quite large, being set in a school, there were a number of pupils, two teachers, an aunt, a fiancé, a grandmother, a housemaid and a very minor character of vegetable man. All performed quite well, and apart from Keira Knightley during scenes of shouting, the American accents were impressively solid. A moment of excitement came when I recognised one of the schoolgirls- omg its Panda from Skins! (Lisa Blackwell).

Bryony Hannah who played Mary Tilford was the star for me. She was only in the 1^st half but she commanded every scene she was in. Yes, her character was infuriating and as her cruel lie escalated I physically wanted to get on stage and slap her, but this was the mark of fine acting. She was never still, rolling around the stage, climbing on furniture. Her control of the other characters was amazing, especially over her friends..she stabbed one with a pencil before demanding her money. She looked impressively young considering she is actually 26 and was working alongside teen actors. She is an unknown actress, but can only go on to do great things, because she was really fantastic.

The cast. Hannah in pyjamas 2nd from right

And Keira. Firstly she was so skinny! Secondly, her acting was..as it always is. Quite good, starting as a haughty female, just like Elizabeth Bennett or The Duchess or in fact. But by the end of act 2 she was in hysterics, crawling about the floor (Her friend had just committed suicide though).  I thought she was going to as well, leaving us on a dour note, but the end was quite ambiguous.

The beginning was quite low, the action mainly being in the second act. Afterwards I felt emotionally drained, but I did really enjoy it. I would recommend it (although the tickets are quite expensive). The couple in front of me did leave at the interval though so it’s clearly not for everyone. If you don’t fancy a trip to the theatre then watch the film, The Loudest Whisper, a 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn. 

O!thello

‘I am not what I am’, the classic line spoken by Iago in Act 1 of ‘Othello’, for me sums up this particular theatre experience. Having studied the play at school I was sceptical as to how much I’d enjoy it, school having sucked the joy out of the play with its meticulous dissection and necessary quote learning. Shakespeare is often very long and requires focused attention or the plot will become lost among the babble of Jacobean English language. So I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the performance.

Baron’s Court Theatre is a very small venue, seating up to about 90 people, in a basement location. Being situated below a pub did have its drawbacks, as we could sometimes hear people walking around the floor above. Also, there was not a lot of legroom and it got rather hot, the combination of many bodies and theatre lighting leading to my cheeky snack of chocolate fingers unfortunately melting in the pocket of my coat, and I noticed one audience member with her head between her legs attempting to avoid a fainting fit. However, this did not detract from the play, performed by newly formed theatre company ‘Swivel’, which seemed to be mainly young actors- definitely not a bad point that they were all attractive.

First impressions were perhaps not all that good. The set design seemed a little confused, with traditional wooden furniture mixed with swivelling office chairs. Also, it was a modern dress production, and some choices, like Desdemona’s hair in her first scene were just a bit odd. On the issue of Desdemona, played by Devon Lang Wilton, she is actually Australian, and the accent sticks out compared to rest of the cast- especially her British father. However, her bouncy and enthusiastic acting, which starts of as a bit annoying, actually becomes a real benefit, making the play easier to understand and very modern. Her literary husband, Othello, played by El Razzougui , also has an accent, although seems more appropriate, considering Othello was a moor, a rare aspect of Venetian Society at that time. However, the acting of Razzaougi seemed a bit one sided- he was either shouting or crying with little in between.

But the majority of the play was excellent. There were genuine moments of humour, like the synchronised movements of the soldiers, and one scene where all the male characters are drinking and basically behaving like it’s a lad’s night out. Also the fight scene following the drinking scene was choreographed brilliantly, with the audience emitting nervous laughter as punches and kicks went flying, turning to slight panic when knives were revealed.

One thing I will say is this is not to play to take your very Conservative granny to. One scene involves a bare chest, and when Iago (Tom Fava) and Emilia (Jennifer Shakesby) kiss, things get a bit heated, and the same thing happens with Cassio (Tom Stanley) and Bianca (Gemma Barrett). But for the most of us, this just adds to the entertainment value.

For me, the star of the play was undoubtedly Tom Fava as Iago. He played his part as the villain very well, and the sense of malice can be felt by the audience. He also interjects humour and delivers some brilliant asides and monologues. Actually, all the actors seemed very enthusiastic and made this play a really good night out. It’s being performed until February 20^th, so go! You can even have a meal/drink in the pub upstairs before. This is an excellent production of one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, and I especially advise this for anyone who saw Hamlet at the National Theatre with Rory Kinnear- another brilliant modern dress production.