Comedy of Errors: Henry IV Part 1
The Comedy of Errors: RSC Main House, Stratford upon Avon
Henry IV Part 1: RSC, The Swan
Review: Rod Dungate, 14 May 2000
The millennium history cycle continues in great form. But a by-numbers production of Errors.
Henry IV Part 1 is the second of Shakespeare's history plays to be staged in the RSC's millennium staging of the whole history cycle. I was surprised how strong the sense of continuity was as the play opened: all the stronger, of course, because some of the characters (and actors) carry through. I have a wonderful feeling of anticipation for the next episode.
David Troughton brings a matter-of-factness to Henry: there is a real sense of him not quite fitting in to his royal role. He replaced Richard and took the crown for the country's good but feels guilty about having done it. Troughton brings the formal weight to the role we would expect but shows great sensitivity when he gives his son (the future Henry V) a dressing down. Although properly stern, his whole being changed as he shed king' and donned father', the great love he has for his wayward son was palpable.
William Houston plays Prince Henry and is one of the two wonderful central performances in this production. Houston perfectly captures Henry's pleasure and excitement of living among London's more dubious characters. He also is never devoid of a sense of kingship, there is an attractive honesty about him which I think would make anyone trust him. Just what the later Henry V is about, really, and I look forward to finding out.
IV Part 1 stands or falls on the performances of Hal and Falstaff and on the relationship between them. Desmond Barrit is excellent casting for Falstaff. I still remember with great pleasure the comic skill combined with feet-on-the-ground reality he brought to Malvolio some years ago. This potent combination is just as evident in his Falstaff. The Knight maybe a larger than life character, but Barrit's creation is flesh and blood through and through (and through and through . . .)
Then the great bonus is the playing between Barrit and Houston: There is a relaxed ease and affection between them that brings a real magical quality to the sections of the play they share. It will make their parting even harder to take than it usually is.
Adam Levy brings the same wild energy to Harry Percy that I so much admired in Richard II. His role is much more central in this play: I still like this dangerous quality he has, though, particularly as the play moves towards its conclusion, he does seem vocally out of control. Perhaps he should pull back a little at the opening so he has somewhere to go.
Michael Attenborough has directed with great energy: so far so good. Roll on Part 2 . . . and then the rest.
Opened in the Main House is The Comedy of Errors. This is an early Shakespeare play and not by any means one of his strongest. However, it can be made to work well, if you just trust it and go with it. Lynne Parker's production is quite ghastly since there's hardly a second when she seems to trust the play at all.
I suspect she must have been given (or bought??) a sort of Trivial Pursuits pack of cards on each one of which is a standard bit of comic biz'. She must have shuffled this pack and inserted them into her directors copy. The production is littered with distracting and completely irrelevant (and often juvenile) gags. For the most part they are not in the least funny, and they completely destroy any world the play is trying to create. So the play ends up not being funny either.
Consequently there is a big waste of talent on show. David Tennant (Antipholus of Syracuse) manages to create a believable character against all the odds, and is ably aided and abetted by the two Dromios (Ian Hughes, Syracuse, and Tom Smith, Ephasus). Talking of the two Dromios, I did wonder if Parker had actually read the play she was directing. You are supposed not to be able to tell the two Dromios apart, so why give one of them a funny accent so that they are quite clearly different? It is all a mystery to me . . . . perhaps it's deconstruction or something!
Henry IV Part 1
Director Michael Attenborough
Set Designer Es Devlin
Costume Designer Kandis Cook
Cast
David Troughton, David Lyon, Don Gallagher, William Houston, Desmond Barrit, Robert Portal, Clifford Rose, Christopher Saul, Adam Levy, Dickon Tyrrell, Russell Layton, Kenneth Bryans, Joe Renton, James O'Donnell, Arthur Cox, Rowland Davies, Sandra Clark, Emma Pallant, Nancy Carroll, Christopher Saul, Sandra Voe, David Killick, Alexis Daniel, Mali Harries, William Whymper, James Albrecht
The Comedy of Errors
Director Lynne Parker
Designer Blaithin Sheerin
Cast
Paul Greenwood, Michael Thomas, David Mara, Jack Chissick, David Tennant, Ian Hughes, Tom Smith, Emily Raymond, Jacqueline Defferary, Anthony Howell, Paul Ewing, Robert Goodale, Karen Bryson, Nicholas Khan, Nina Conti, David Acton, Ann Firbank, Graeme Mearns
2003-10-18 10:46:01