November 16, 2007
Apricot Productions offer a highly polished production of Webster’s visually poetic language complete with generous slices of blood and guts action that makes your mouth water when seated near the stage. Chris Hutchinson’s compositions of drum rhythms and encircling chimes of round open bells start and finish the darkest scenes and mark the passing of time when the female lead (we never know her name) becomes pregnant. The vagaries of female emotions are the best suit in actress Sian Robins-Grace’s well-researched portrayal of the Duchess. Her terrible fate is avenged in the bristling second act of this edited version (running time 2 hours 45 minutes) that emphasises Webster’s concern with the consequences rather than the motivation of human actions. We never know why the heroine persists on a hasty remarriage to the smooth but socially inferior Antonio or why her sexually frustrated and controlling incestuous twin brother Ferdinand is set against her marrying again. Sibling rivalry is implied and insane infirmity is Ferdinand’s comeuppance for letting the family dynamic fail under the weight of his desire for material gain. Fearlessly, Brian McMahon as Ferdinand explodes onto the stage as a twisted wolf-man and terrifies the front row.
Older brother to the twins is The Cardinal of Aragon. Jack Chedburn in this role delivers a cold, calculated, imperial authority draped in the sumptuous red robes his office demands. Costumes, designed by Lavinia Harrington, are rich and lavish: the Duchess switches between monochrome tones of white raw silk gowns and black mourning dress. The white drapes give the set an Etruscan feel, with ruined pillars framing a balcony perched in a triumphal arch, concentrating the intensity of the monologues delivered there when spotlit by Allan Ramsay’s shadowy lighting design. The darkness is at once contrasted with the smooth, warm and soft seductive moments. The sophisticated and selfish dynamics of an elite social hierarchy of the late middle ages are embodied in the fruity scenes between the Cardinal and his illicit lover Julia, a character brought to life vividly by Sophie Siem. The tone of the playwright is admirably echoed throughout the action by the sonorous timbre of the villainous Bosola. The hugely gifted actor, Owen Findlay, plays this amoral knave as a man who is feckless in his support of tyranny.
The key story-telling scenes are intense but there is no escaping the dramatic challenge of the weird and nonsensical ending. During the confusing sequence of deaths, mostly in hysterical circumstances, an element of farce is unavoidable. The cast give the action a ripe burst of zestful energy. The freedom with which the cast embody their roles indicates that Director Titas Halder has had a refreshingly light touch. This is an accessible unhindered version of the play.
It is gratifying to watch the talents of these Oxford University students blossom as they appear in successive productions on the Oxford Playhouse stage. The delightful Alex Ball plays Delio, fresh from the title role of Entertaining Mr Sloane. Chorus Leader Mwenya Kawesha brings to the show some great ensemble skills as seen earlier in Our Country’s Good. No doubt fruitful acting careers lie ahead for this strong cast but before they branch out into the West End, be sure to take a bite of Bosola’s ripe apricots. Ah go on!
Older brother to the twins is The Cardinal of Aragon. Jack Chedburn in this role delivers a cold, calculated, imperial authority draped in the sumptuous red robes his office demands. Costumes, designed by Lavinia Harrington, are rich and lavish: the Duchess switches between monochrome tones of white raw silk gowns and black mourning dress. The white drapes give the set an Etruscan feel, with ruined pillars framing a balcony perched in a triumphal arch, concentrating the intensity of the monologues delivered there when spotlit by Allan Ramsay’s shadowy lighting design. The darkness is at once contrasted with the smooth, warm and soft seductive moments. The sophisticated and selfish dynamics of an elite social hierarchy of the late middle ages are embodied in the fruity scenes between the Cardinal and his illicit lover Julia, a character brought to life vividly by Sophie Siem. The tone of the playwright is admirably echoed throughout the action by the sonorous timbre of the villainous Bosola. The hugely gifted actor, Owen Findlay, plays this amoral knave as a man who is feckless in his support of tyranny.
The key story-telling scenes are intense but there is no escaping the dramatic challenge of the weird and nonsensical ending. During the confusing sequence of deaths, mostly in hysterical circumstances, an element of farce is unavoidable. The cast give the action a ripe burst of zestful energy. The freedom with which the cast embody their roles indicates that Director Titas Halder has had a refreshingly light touch. This is an accessible unhindered version of the play.
It is gratifying to watch the talents of these Oxford University students blossom as they appear in successive productions on the Oxford Playhouse stage. The delightful Alex Ball plays Delio, fresh from the title role of Entertaining Mr Sloane. Chorus Leader Mwenya Kawesha brings to the show some great ensemble skills as seen earlier in Our Country’s Good. No doubt fruitful acting careers lie ahead for this strong cast but before they branch out into the West End, be sure to take a bite of Bosola’s ripe apricots. Ah go on!