July 13, 2006
Alexander Zeldin’s production of de la Barca’s 17th century observations on the religious and political ideological collision of Moorish Islam with Portuguese Catholicism blends drama with African music and original dance.
The story centres on the refusal of a captured Portuguese prince, Don Fernando (Finbar Williams), to be ransomed during the crusades so that the King of Fez (Rebecca Elliot) can regain the territory of Ceuta. In addition we see the king’s use of his daughter, Phenix (Victoria Bolt), as a bargaining chip to gain military support for his war. He promises her hand in exchange for extra troops, much to the dismay of his general, Muléy (Alex Gregor), who is in love with the princess. Despite the efforts of Fernando’s brother, Don Enrique (Hussein Omar) to secure ransom, and of Don Juan (Lisa Eberle) to help the prince when he is enslaved, Fernando dies for his faith.
The opening, with drum and wind music from the excellent Ragab Sadek and Amin Shahin, and the accompanying wild and stirring choreography, created a dreamlike atmosphere which was not really sustained. Some of the cast were a little inaudible, which made parts of the dialogue hard to follow; an exception to this was Alex Gregor who came across loud and clear throughout with the best performance of the evening.
The piece failed to weld the elements of dance, music and drama into a cohesive whole; a shame as a huge amount of work has clearly gone into this production. Casting against sex can work, as the recent all male Twelfth Night at the Playhouse proved, but here it did not. I never believed that the King of Fez was a man – most especially when he joined his general for a waltz with the soldier leading – for Ms. Elliot’s playing was far too feminine to carry such an arrogant and ruthless monarch.
The strength of this production lies clearly in the excellent music and dance that enlivened the first half of the show, but was all too absent in the second.
The story centres on the refusal of a captured Portuguese prince, Don Fernando (Finbar Williams), to be ransomed during the crusades so that the King of Fez (Rebecca Elliot) can regain the territory of Ceuta. In addition we see the king’s use of his daughter, Phenix (Victoria Bolt), as a bargaining chip to gain military support for his war. He promises her hand in exchange for extra troops, much to the dismay of his general, Muléy (Alex Gregor), who is in love with the princess. Despite the efforts of Fernando’s brother, Don Enrique (Hussein Omar) to secure ransom, and of Don Juan (Lisa Eberle) to help the prince when he is enslaved, Fernando dies for his faith.
The opening, with drum and wind music from the excellent Ragab Sadek and Amin Shahin, and the accompanying wild and stirring choreography, created a dreamlike atmosphere which was not really sustained. Some of the cast were a little inaudible, which made parts of the dialogue hard to follow; an exception to this was Alex Gregor who came across loud and clear throughout with the best performance of the evening.
The piece failed to weld the elements of dance, music and drama into a cohesive whole; a shame as a huge amount of work has clearly gone into this production. Casting against sex can work, as the recent all male Twelfth Night at the Playhouse proved, but here it did not. I never believed that the King of Fez was a man – most especially when he joined his general for a waltz with the soldier leading – for Ms. Elliot’s playing was far too feminine to carry such an arrogant and ruthless monarch.
The strength of this production lies clearly in the excellent music and dance that enlivened the first half of the show, but was all too absent in the second.