THE MALCONTENT: Marston, RSC Stratford, till mat 13 September. Newcastle -upo
THE MALCONTENT: John Marston
RSC: The Swan
Tkts: 0870 609 1110
Runs: 2h 30m, in interval, in rep till mat Fri 13 Sept
then Newcastle-upon-Tyne Playhouse in rep 25 September-11 October 2002
Tkts(Newcastle): 0870 905 5060
Review: Rod Dungate, 20 August 2002
Another Elizabethan gem revealed mesmerising, mind-boggling central performance from Antony Sher.So the RSC reveals another Elizabethan gem for us: Marston's THE MALCONTENT: what an extraordinary play it is, and, in Dominic Cooke's modern-dress production, clearly as relevant today as it was when written.
This is the last of the 'Plays for a Money-Get, Mechanic Age' written by Shakespeare's contemporaries Greg Doran's Swan company will perform. As a season as a whole the most thrilling thing of all is to see, fully frontal, the dynamic spirit of invention, development, wit and absolute theatricality the writers show. In MALCONTENT much of this is imbedded in the central character, the malcontent himself, Malevole Antony Sher gives a mesmerising performance.
The play is set in Genoa, but the production could be any state run by a dictator who obtains his position through favours, manipulation and violence. Malevole appears looking like an extraordinary cross between tramp and beatnik artist: he is afforded the same dramatic rights as a 'fool', he can break conventions and speak his mind. In this case it is a deluge of invective and insult but, as with a fool, we accept it as truth. Marston pulls off two dramatic coups he later reveals that Malevole is, himself a usurped Duke, and we see the play (the court) through his, Malevole's, eyes.
The play tells the story of Malevole's journey to reclaim his title, manoeuvring himself through the stinking bog of corruption that the court has become. (As we note some of the news from around the world today, wouldn't it be wonderful to think that such a character could emerge in a few places.)
Sher's performance is mind-boggling. Faced with a mountain of words he doesn't charge at them but approaches them sideways, kneads them, chews them delighting in their taste: he turns each word into a barbed arrow, fires it having accurately, unhurriedly, centred it on its target. Physically, he stoops, he shambles, then he hops and skips, he dances through his game of life-and-death. The game is serious but he loves it, he loves his power Sher and Malevole appear inseparable. But then he will take off his wig and glasses and instantly become the usurped Duke Giovanni Altofronto upright, honest, as unaffected as Malevole is affected. Altofronto can delight in his theatricality as much as Sher and Marston can delight in theirs. Sher's dangerous performance is one for us to cherish.
In this strong company, though, other performances also shine. Joe Dixon, the usurping Duke, Mendoza, is a disturbingly centred villain. The quiet matter-of-factness with which he manipulates those around him is chillingly effective. Claire Benedict is a delightfully wicked bawd, Maquerelle, and Geoffrey Freshwater, Bilioso, an unctuous, side-changing and seedy courtier I couldn't see it, but I'm sure there must be the remains of dinner down the front of his crumpled white military uniform.
Bilioso: Geoffrey Freshwater
Prepasso: James Tucker
Pietro: Colin McCormack
Ferrardo: Michael Matus
Malevole: Antony Sher
Count Celso: Paul Bhattacharjee
Mendoza: Joe Dixon
Aurelia: Amanda Drew
Ferneze: Billy Carter
Maquerelle: Claire Benedict
Bianca: Sasha Behar
Emilia: Caroline Faber
Page: Ben Hicks
Guerrino: Michael Thomas
Captain: Paul Bentall
Maria: Anna Madeley
Courtiers: Ben Hicks, Avin Shah
Mercury: Ben Hicks
Director: Dominic Cooke
Design: Robert Innes Hopkins
Lighting: Wayne Dowdeswell
Music: Gary yershon
Movment: Liz Ranken
Fights: Terry King
Sound: Martin Slavin
Music Director: James Jones
2002-08-21 14:44:24