Troilus and Cressida
Nov. 11th, 2018 04:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitIn my continuing goal of seeing every single Shakespeare play I was determined to see Troilus and Cressida when the RSC announced they would be performing it. Originally I had booked to go to the Unwrapped session last week, but I had to work so I rebooked for yesterday. I think knowing a bit more about the play would have been helpful, but that wasn't to be.
It's set during the Greek siege of Troy, seven years after Paris has abducted Helen. The title characters don't have a particularly large part to play, and there are several other well-known names of the period (Aenias, Priam, Achilles, Ajax, Hector etc) who do their bit. I'm not sure whether my knowledge of the characters was helpful or not.
This production was set outside time - swords and shields, motorbikes, and a modern take on traditional Greek clothing. The actors were split 50/50 male/female, so some male parts were taken by female actors, which sort of worked, but there were only some were the male part could be taken by a female actor. The music had been commissioned from Evelyn Glennie, the percussionist, which meant there was only percussion, so little subtlety.
It was quite hard understanding some of the speeches, they were spoken quite quickly and it's not always easy following Shakespeare's more poetic allusions. I did like both Ewart James Walters (Priam) and Oliver Ford Davies (Pandarus) who were both very clear and therefore easier to follow. And the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus was fun to watch, as they flaunted it in front of the other characters, and the audience.
This is another of Shakespeare's plays that I wouldn't go to again (unless, of course, one of my favourite actors was in it). The programme spoke of Shakespeare using it to show heroes as being unheroic, but maybe that's not why we want to see our heroes.
It's set during the Greek siege of Troy, seven years after Paris has abducted Helen. The title characters don't have a particularly large part to play, and there are several other well-known names of the period (Aenias, Priam, Achilles, Ajax, Hector etc) who do their bit. I'm not sure whether my knowledge of the characters was helpful or not.
This production was set outside time - swords and shields, motorbikes, and a modern take on traditional Greek clothing. The actors were split 50/50 male/female, so some male parts were taken by female actors, which sort of worked, but there were only some were the male part could be taken by a female actor. The music had been commissioned from Evelyn Glennie, the percussionist, which meant there was only percussion, so little subtlety.
It was quite hard understanding some of the speeches, they were spoken quite quickly and it's not always easy following Shakespeare's more poetic allusions. I did like both Ewart James Walters (Priam) and Oliver Ford Davies (Pandarus) who were both very clear and therefore easier to follow. And the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus was fun to watch, as they flaunted it in front of the other characters, and the audience.
This is another of Shakespeare's plays that I wouldn't go to again (unless, of course, one of my favourite actors was in it). The programme spoke of Shakespeare using it to show heroes as being unheroic, but maybe that's not why we want to see our heroes.
no subject
Date: 2018-11-12 09:56 am (UTC)I enjoyed the production overall but saw no point to the motorbikes and found such a variation in performances that it was a little uneven. Oliver Ford Davies was easily the best, and like you I enjoyed Achilles and Patroclus (Achilles was *cough* a pleasure to watch), while the woman playing Ulysses (who I know is a really good actor) was painfully one-note, "look, I am declaiming Shakespeare". That was a pity as the character has so many lines. I liked both Troilus and Cressida which helped. I thought their performances very accessible.
Didnt notice that Evelyn Glennie was involved in the music. Thanks for pointing that out. All that bonging and banging...
Not a very uplifting play though, is it. Nobody is decent and there is no redemption for anyone really. Shakespeare must have been in a right old strop when he wrote this one.
How many more do you need to see to reach your goal?
no subject
Date: 2018-11-12 03:52 pm (UTC)I didn't dislike the production, but I've been to better and I tend to feel the RSC should really be selling Shakespeare to me. I felt a few of the actors were declaiming Shakespeare.
The story line definitely didn't grab me - it didn't really seem to go anywhere. I need three more plays.
no subject
Date: 2018-11-12 09:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-11-12 09:28 pm (UTC)