GREAT EXPECTATIONS till 4 February.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS: Charles Dickens, adapted by Nick Ormerod and Declan Donnellan.
RSC Main House, Stratford Upon Avon (www.rsc.org.uk).
Runs: 3h, till 4 February 2006.
Review: Rod Dungate 6 December 2005.
Exquisite; superb performances.
After a breathless start, this Ormerod-Donnellan collaboration settles down into an exquisite interpretation of Dickens's novel. And there are superb performances.
It's a truly ensemble production, too; the whole story unfolds for us and the company too – characters peer round corners and over the tops of sets. Characters rush in, handing other characters props. Characters watch the story unfold in character, blurring the edges of reality and illusion and binding us into the event.
One of the most thrilling aspects of the production is the way Dickens's long tale is told in all its multi-layered complexity. Not that you have to know the novel to appreciate this; the play we see is complex and multi-layered in its own right. The tangible sense of Dickens unfolding the narrative forwards while, at the same time and in equal measure, unravelling it backwards, is truly exciting, keeping dramatic tension taut.
The story is Pip's long journey of discovery – an uncomfortable journey to find his essential humanity. Samuel Roukin's Pip is perfect. Tall and handsome he's hard to miss, but he's unassuming too. Our emotional journey through the evening lies in the conflict between our belief that Pip is a decent, honourable person and our knowledge that he doesn't know how to be that person. We wait, hoping he will discover himself.
But there are many other journeys too. Most notably Sian Phillips's Miss Havisham and Brian Doherty's Joe Gargery. Phillips's Haversham isn't a kind of Hammer Horror monster, but a human being, perhaps cruel, certainly dotty. Phillips convinces us that Havisham (consciously or subconsciously) misses human contact – has constructed her own prison bars. Her final act of generosity isn't out of character, but the end of a beautifully plotted personal journey. Her final death, a tragedy. Joe Gargery's journey is equally as beautifully shaped. At the opening, Young Pip holds him and cries against his chest; but Gargery is too awkward to hold him, doesn't know how to do it. Doherty marks the end of his journey gently washing the hands and face of ill Pip.
There are many other marvellous performances, too many to mention, but it would be remiss of me not to pick out (on the night I saw it) Young Pip (Harry Davis) and Young Herbert Pocket (George Haynes). These young people show amazing presence and assuredness.
My only qualm is the relentless pace of the first half. I craved slightly longer moments of repose when I could get to know the main characters more; for the play to settle into its own rhythm. But this is a small criticism and it's a big story to tell. And at three hours long, I can only say it's several minutes too short!
Pip: Samuel Roukin.
Young Pip: Harry Davies/ Jack Cheesbrough.
Mrs Joe: Sophie Duval.
Magwitch: Roger Sloman.
Joe Gargery: Brian Doherty.
Pumblechook: Julius D'Silva.
Mr Wopsle: Tobias Beer.
mr Hubble: Philip Cumbus.
Mrs Hubble: Gwendoline Christie.
Compeyson: Adam Newsome.
Biddy: Emma Lowndes.
Young Estella: Jo Woodcock.
Miss Havisham: Sian Phillips.
Young Herbert Picket: Jack Fielding/ George Haynes.
Jaggers: Richard Bremmer.
Orlick: Tobias Beer.
Wemmick: Jem Wall.
Herbert Pocket: Robert Hastie.
Bentley Drummle: Philip Cumbus.
Startop: Philip McGinley.
Molly: Ruth Everett.
Estella: Neve McIntosh.
Watchman: Joseph MacNab.
Directed by: Declan Donnellan.
Designed by: Nick Ormerod.
Director of Movement: Jane Gibson.
Lighting Designed by: Judith Greenwood.
Music Composed by: Catherine Jayes.
Sound Designed by: Gregory Clarke.
Director of Puppetry: Mervyn Millar.
Fights Directed by: Terry King.
Associate Director: Edward Dick.
Music Director: Stephen Brown.
Company Voice Work: Lyn Darnley.
Dialect Work by: Joan Washington.
2005-12-07 16:26:36