Measure for Measure (The Swan Theatre)

There was a strangeness about this production, and it reminded me of  the television programme Tales of the Unexpected.  There was a conjuring Duke  (Raymond Coulthard) who did slight of hand tricks, but the biggest trick of them all would be the bed trick.  The Duke attempted to connect with the audience, but there was also a darkness in this production which was emphasised in the colours and mood conveyed by the set.

The production explored sex in different contexts. We saw examples of S and M, love (Claudio and Juliet), and desire.

Where this production was let down was that there was no spark or chemistry between Angelo (Jamie Beamish) and Isabella (Jodie McNee). I just couldn’t see how this tightly dressed man could  be attracted to Isabella. Where Isabella should have passion in her pleading for her brother’s life there wasn’t any. However, there were some really good performances from Bruce Alexander as the Provost and Geoffrey Beevers as Escalus.  Joseph Kloska was great as Pompey.  His ad libbing was very appropriate and he did extremely well to involve the audience in the production.  At one point he noted me and pointed out my red hair to everyone in the audience.

I felt that the production didn’t use the thrust stage as well as it could, at times it felt like it could have been in a proscenium  arch theatre, as often the action felt as if it was framed.

At times the production felt a little slow, but it was enormously intriguing and that was what kept my attention.

Reviews

Measure for Measure, RSC Swan, Stratford Upon Avon – review | Theatre

Measure for Measure, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon – Reviews – Theatre & Dance – The Independent

Measure for Measure – review | Stage | The Guardian

Measure for Measure, RSC, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, review – Telegraph

The Stage / Reviews / Measure for Measure

Blogs

Margate Sands

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Best of 2010

Theatre: Shakespeare

1. Romeo and Juliet (RSC).

2. King Lear (RSC).

3. As You Like It (West Yorkshire Playhouse).

4. Measure for Measure (Almeida).

5. The Winter’s Tale (RSC/Roundhouse).

6. Henry IV part 2 (Globe).

7. Macbeth (Globe).

8. Antony and Cleopatra (RSC).

9. Antony and Cleopatra (Liverpool Playhouse).

10. Hamlet (The Crucible, Sheffield).

11. King Lear (Donmar).

12. Henry VIII (The Globe).

13. The Tempest (Old Vic).

14. As You Like It (Old Vic)

15. Macbeth (Belt Up/York Theatre Royal).

Theatre: Not Shakespeare

1. Jerusalem (Apollo).

2. After the Dance (National).

3. An Enemy of the People (Sheffield Crucible).

4. Women Beware Women (National).

5. London Assurance (National).

6. Enron (Theatre Royal, Newcastle)

7. The Habit of Art (National Theatre).

8. Corrie! (Lowry, Salford)

9. The Real Thing (Old Vic).

10. Canterbury Tales (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Northern Broadsides).

11. La Bete (Comedy Theatre).

12. Death of a Salesman (West Yorkshire Playhouse).

13. Three Sisters (Lyric, Hammersmith).

14. The Misanthrope (Comedy Theatre)

15. Beating Berlusconi. (York Theatre Royal).

  

Exhibitions

1. Gauguin (Tate Modern).

2. Van Gogh (Royal Academy).

3. Renaissance drawings (The British Museum).

4. The Book of the Dead (British Museum).

5. Venice. Canaletto and his rivals. (The National Gallery).

6. Sargent and the Sea (Royal Academy).

7. Rude Britannia (Tate Britain).

8. Summer Show (Royal Academy).

9. Beatles to Bowie (National Portrait Gallery).

10. Chris Ofili (Tate Britain).

  

Books

1. Andrea Levy The Long Song.

2. Hilary Mantel – Wolf Hall.

3. AS Byatt – The Children’s Book.

4. Rose Tremain – Trespass.

5. Colm Toibin Brooklyn.

6. Ian McEwan  Solar.

7. Paul Magrs Diary of a Doctor Who Addict.

8. Tony Blair The Journey.

9. Kate Atkinson Started Early, Took My Dog.

10. Alexander McCall Smith The Double Comfort Safari Club.

TV

1. Coronation Street –  especially for Jack’s Death and the Live episode (ITV).

3. Ashes to Ashes (BBC1).

4. Doctor Who – The End of Time part 2 (BBC1).

5. Doctor Who – especially for the eleventh hour (BBC1).

6. Downton Abbey (ITV1)

7. I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here (ITV1).

8. Macbeth (BBC 4).

9. Luther (BBC1).

10. Silent Witness (BBC 1).

and my guilty pleasure of the year

Peter Kay at the Studio, Lowry (and again at the Manchester Evening News Arena).

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Measure For Measure (Almeida, 20th February 2010)

Measure for Measure is a play that deals with justice, the law, alongside sexuality and passion. In the Almeida production, Ben Miles plays the Duke as restless and anxious.  We are introduced to him pacing across the stage some fifteen minutes before the play has started. It is as if he has got up in the middle of the night and can’t sleep, because his conscience is niggling at him.

The pre show sets up a Duke who is unsure and almost desperate, but as the production progresses, as the friar, he becomes much more assured to the point he starts to play games with death. This aspect of his character is as unsettling as the fact he abdicates his responsibility and leaves the state in the hands of the deceitful Angelo.

Venice is a dark place, except for the colour brought by the prostitutes pole dancing in the background.   The set and costumes reflect the dark themes in the play.  There’s a thoughtful moment on stage where the Duke and Isabella are being dressed in religious robes.  His is a disguise, and hers, in contrast, is for real.

I thought that there was a really strong performance from Anna Maxwell Martin. She was particularly powerful in her moments of silence and in her speeches to Angelo.  For me, what was interesting about this production was the ending. Productions have tried to deal with the difficulty of whether Isabella accepts the Duke’s proposal or not.  Here Anna Maxwell Martin’ Isabella doesn’t need words, she looks at the Duke as if in him she sees a reflection of Angelo. Isabella might be able to fall to her knees to plead for the hypocritical Angelo, but it felt like she cannot forgive the Duke who, as the friar, used his power to take characters to an emotional abyss. 

I felt that this was a lovely thoughtful production with touches of humour, but a focus on sexual morality which didn’t feel dated at all.  

Reviews and Previews

Measure for Measure in The Evening Standard
Measure for Measure in The Guardian
Measure for Measure in The Stage
Interview with Rory Kinnear in Official London Theatre Guide
WOS on Measure for Measure at Almeida
Measure for Measure in the Official London Theatre Guide
Interview with Maxwell Martin in The Observer.
Measure for Measure in The Independent
Measure for Measure in The Financial Times
What’s On Stage round up of the reviews of Measure for Measure.

Julie Raby2 Comments