Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
John Ford’s 1633 tragedy was revived in the Drama Barn this week, forming the first part of the ‘Freshers’ Plays’ double bill. Directors Hannah Wills and Jack Walker created a fast-paced, intense drama that really stretched and challenged their actors. Condensing a difficult text like this is no mean feat, and it is quite an accomplishment for no meaning to be lost, no plot lines unexplained or not fully developed.
Joshua King as the protagonist Giovanni gave a very strong performance (his lack of squeamishness at the end with Annabella’s ‘heart’, a bloody lump of meat, should especially be commended!). Although Giovanni has passionate incestuous feelings for his sister Annabella (which, even more surprisingly for me as I did not know the play prior to seeing it, are reciprocated), the audience finds themselves able to sympathise with the character through his portrayal of the tragic and noble hero. Light relief is provided in the play through the presence of Roisin Caird, who played Annabella’s guardian. Caird is an actress well suited to the bawdy humour of the eyebrow-raise, coupled with blatant sexual innuendo, which dominated her earlier scenes. She engaged with the audience well in her comedic moments on stage, pointing suggestively to a male audience member when speaking about eligible suitors for Annabella. This breaking of the fourth wall was carried off neatly and did not detract from the integrity of the following, more serious scenes.
Something that was consistently jarring throughout the play however were the regular blackouts between scenes, which broke up the pace of the plot and made scene changes slower and more awkward. One problem associated with blackouts manifested itself when a chair was set on stage in the wrong place (understandably, given that the actors were walking on stage blind in a pitch-dark Barn), which meant that a monologue was performed next to, rather than in, one of the spotlights. Technical problems like this could have been assuaged by a more fluid lighting plan. There are restrictions with the Freshers’ Plays, particularly the small budget and a quick changeover from the previous play that has been in the Barn. The play was visually bland in terms of costume and set (no doubt due to the meagre budget), and this, together with static staging, made the play lose energy and momentum at certain points throughout. However, the actors seemed to have adapted to the space very well, considering that for many, it was their first time performing in the Barn. Tis Pity She’s A Whore was a wonderful introduction for the freshers involved – let’s hope that the production team and actors are faces that will be seen again on the same stage.
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