Theatre Abroad Part 1 - Heroes, Waiting for Godot, Bizzare Bath, Oedipus,& Romeo and Juliet,

On Sept. 2oth (I think) we saw Heroes, a new comedy by Gerald Sibleyra, translated by Tom Stoppard (of Rosencrantz fame). It was our first theatrical experience of the trip and totally unexpected. I spotted the poster in the window of a theatre while we were wandering about Cambridge, and we decided to take in the 7.30 show more or less on a whim. As my first theatrical experience abroad it did not dissappoint, but I did find some elements out of place. The basic story is as such:

Three grumpy old men reside in a military hospital. Could today be the day they escape? Its 1959 and three First World War veterans pass their days in a military hospital. Meeting every morning, Gustave, Philippe and Henri bicker and tease each other as they reflect on their lives. Looking over the cemetery to the poplars beyond, they dream of escape. Will today be the day they finally make it to Indochina or perhaps only as far as the top of the hill?

Malik, Timothy, and Jayston's understudy did a fine job of exploiting the comedy's more subtle nuanaces- eliciting laughs from moments I would not have thought possible, and they also managed to finesse the larger laugh-lines, I was disappointed they did not get at the chance for something deeper in the play. There were many chances for showing a more honest, caring relationship between these three men. The last moment of the play attempts to evoke an image of them as a flock of birds, taking in turns the responsibility for leading and steadying the flock, a nice piece of writing and imagery that came off slightly false as it was nearly the first time we felt any depth of feeling among them. This is not to say that their relationships were not apparent, only that it was not nearly as well developed as I expected from professional actors doing a play about men who are spending their dying moments together, two of which have been friends for ten years.

That said, the comedy was played with excellent timing and craft. One of the funny bits of the show concerns the stone dog that sits on the terrace. Timothy's character is convinced that the dog moves, and Malik is only too happy to move it himself when the other's back is turned. Timothy also suffer's from fainting spells caused by shrapnel in the head, after which he always shouts "From the rear, captain! We'll take them from the rear!" which we later find out, is not a battle cry, but something much more interesting.

The next unexpected theatrical coup was an outstanding performance of Waiting for Godot at the Oxford playhouse, directed by the eminent Sir Peter Hall. We saw this on Sept. 21rst.

The actors in this show had a command of the language and craft I'd not seen before in a Beckett play, with Lucky being a true standout among the more minor characters.

Didi was played well, but was surpassed (only by a little bit) by his counterpart Gogo, who was far more spare in his interpretation, and in this case, stronger. The lighting was beautiful, and I was shocked how much I enjoyed this production in a proscenium space.

This is one of my favorite plays, and this production only made me love it more. Beckett is a master of examining existentialist and absurdist issues while making them hilarious and though provoking. This may be the top piece of theatre I've seen here yet.

Next was a recommendation by Rhett Bryson. I went on the thoroughly enjoyable Bizzare Bath comedy walk. This tour of Bath had absolutely no redeeming historical or social value and was all the better for it! A tourguide leads you from the Huntsman tavern at 8pm on a ninety-minute sprint of laughter and magic including a daring escape, ribald balloon humor, people getting things cut off, and lots of poking fun at the Germans. At only 5 pounds for a student, it was a steal. (Sept. 22nd) (http://www.bizarrebath.co.uk/)


In a more serious vein, on the 23rd of September I was fortunate to witness a stunning four person version of Oedipus Rex performed by the Actors of Dinoysus. In this brief but powerful production, one actor plays Oedipus while the other three double and triple as a citizen chorus, Tiresias, Jocasta, Creon, and others. The set was a master work of simplicity and function and the sound design was evocative and eerie with its use of radio static distortion and the haunting rain at the end which was reminiscent of The Wastland by Eliot. The only objections I heard had to do with the play having some political references (referring to Tony Blair and GW) but I felt that these were subtle and appropiate. The real pleasure of the play was seeing these four actors render such a great performance with such a small cast. The adaptation was written well too. I did take slight issue with the actual performance of the character of Tiresias; he sounded falsely geezerly as well as not being nearly as creepy enough, but this was outweighed by the overall high quality and gut-wrenching immediacy of the piece. The play ended with a sublte tableau sequence that brought Oedipus's kingdom back into balance as the gods' wrath subsided. (http://www.actorsofdionysus.com/)

Lastly (for now) we have a production of Romeo and Juliet that far surpassed my expectations. In this RSC production, the classically overdone Shakespeare play is given new dramatic life. It is framed in an extra story of two Sicillian families that come together once a year to put on their own production of R&J and put aside their weapons and hatred for one night. Fights are re-imagined as tap-flaminco-esque dances with quarter staffs, and as characters fall prey to the two families vile blood feud, hooks descend from the ceiling to recieve their outer garment, so you can see who had died for their blood feud.

Juliet was a radiant vision for her spare but powerful perfomance that showed both craft and passion. Romeo was far less appealling as the young actor had apparently found the role too large for him, and substituted emo-comedy for true emotional depth, hitting the same whiny note the whole way through the play. The Friar Lawrence and the Nurse delivered notable performances, showing a thorough grasp of craft and character-history. We were honored to have a talk back with the actress who played the Nurse, Sorcha Cusack.

The choreography was beautiful as well, specifically the dance-fights mentioned above. The set was gorgeous, although some were confused by the more abstract elements. I was impressed at how well it conveyed the mood and how well it was adapted to the various needs of the production. The play was also accompanied by haunting music, both played and sung, all live, that wrenched the heart. The lighting was evocative, and the costumes a vision. For me, all the stylistic elements fitted together into a whole that was both artistically beautiful, but also viable for actors to work in. This was one of the best Shakespeares I have ever seen. (Romeo and Juliet at the RSC)

I arrived in Stratford-Upon-Avon on Sunday, and it is a lovely city. Coming soon as well, updatesand pictures regarding the day's non-theatrical events that aren't covered here.

Tonight we see Cymbeline as a cornish/musical theatre adaptation. You know you're jealous. :)