WINTER'S TALE, Shakespeare, Compass, tours till 7 May

Poole

Compass Theatre Company present

THE WINTER'S TALE
by William Shakespeare

Tours to 7 May
Running time 3.5 hours with one interval

Review Hazel Brown, The Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts, 13 February 2003

Clear and thoughtful production of Shakespeare's late Romance
The cast of eight, with each actor doubling, give a clear and thoughtful interpretation of this play that deals with the difficult emotions of jealousy and anger as well as the need for forgiveness and reconciliation. Using the young prince Mamillius (Leontes' young son who dies early in the play) as the spirit' who weaves the story, director Neil Sissons, melds together the disparate parts of this fairy tale.

Peter Lindford, Leontes and Autolycus, is given the opportunity to demonstrate his full range of acting skills the corrosive anger and jealousy of Leontes who thinks he has been cuckolded by his best friend, and the amusing, double dealing of the amoral tinker Autolycus. In his final Leontes moments he offers us the mixed pain and wonder of reconciliation. He is excellent in both parts, his diction and delivery always clear, even when gripped by excess of dark emotions, and very funny in his music hall style portrayal of the tinker. In fact, the whole play is conjured as a story in the dark recesses of a derelict, dark theatre, haunted by the ghostly singing of bygone comedians.

Beatrice Comins is regal and resolute as the publicly, unjustly shamed Hermione her trial scene, with everyone dressed in furs and heavy greatcoats as snow descends, is made more terrible as she shivers in a bloodstained thin shift.

The costumes place the action in the 1930's and 50's starting in the dark, wintry court of Sicilia, moving to the sunshine bathed land of Bohemia as the reconciliation process starts with the saving of Hermione's banished baby, Perdita. The bucolic countryside scenes, sixteen years later, are full of colourful costumes and knockabout humour, only darkened when the black robed Polixenes (Leontes' former friend and the supposed adulterer) refuses to allow his son, Prince Florizel, to marry a simple shepherdess, the now grown up Perdita.

The young lovers escape to Sicilia, dressed in bright yellow, bringing latent spring into the autumnal court. It is revealed that Perdita is, in fact, the lost royal child and the now middle-aged Leontes and Hermione are finally reconciled.

The whole cast embrace their parts with skill, the direction is clear and uncluttered and the atmospheric original music of Christopher Madin meld together to make this a commendable and accessible production.

CAST
Camillo/Old Shepherd: Roger Bingham
Paulina/Dorcas: Gilian Cally
Hermione/Mopsa: Beatrice Comins
Emilia/Perdita: Rachel Edwards
Florizel/Mamillius: Marc Frankum
Antigonus/Clown : Simon Harvey
Leontes/Autolycus: Peter Lindford
Polixenes/Caretaker: Michael Onslow

Artistic Director: Neil Sissons
Designer: Neil Irish
Composer: Christopher Madin
Lighting Designer: Jason Taylor
Choreographer: Dan O'Neill

2003-02-15 20:14:56