I'm kicking off this new theatre blog early with a review for SOOP's production of The Revenger's Tragedy. I saw this production at The Space, where it is no longer playing but in early 2011 you will be able to see it in Havant, Newport on the Isle of Wight and Portsea. For full details of dates and venues visit www.soop.org.uk.
You don’t see many productions of The Revenger’s Tragedy. With so many characters, a complicated plot and a plan for gruesome revenge so over the top it can only come across as comic to a modern audience, it’s a minefield of potential problems for a director brave enough to take it on.
Nathan Chapman took all these challenges and turned them into highlights in SOOPs skilful production. With four actors playing 17 characters I was concerned this would make the plot harder to follow. However the script had been stripped right down and the production cleverly used costume accents and beautiful original commedia masks and puppets to differentiate the characters. This meant the actors could create commedia del arte style over the top characters which were instantly recognisable and very funny. Though far removed from the traditional style for a Jacobean revenge tragedy the commedia style fit perfectly with the Italian setting and transformed the play into a black comedy ideal for a contemporary audience. At times it was like watching the League of Gentlemen.
A strong ensemble cast really made this production work. The actors changed quickly between characters of different age and sex without it being confusing because the performances were so concise. Alice Corrigan showed particular skill when playing two brothers at the same time, one through a puppet, which was very funny particularly when she was alone on stage and the characters suddenly realised they were holding the head of their third brother in a bag. Rachel Carter played a brilliant Castiza, moving in stilted ballet positions. This made the character look awkward and at odds with the others, which I thought helped set her apart as the only virtuous one and by contrast made the scheming, lustful and revenge-hungry characters even more grotesque.
I was reminded of some of Propeller’s Shakespeare productions where a cut down script, vivid characters and precise physical performances make a script modern and accessible. SOOP’s production would be ideal as an introduction to the genre, or equally give Jacobean drama fans a fresh and original take on the play.
The Revenger’s Tragedy offers a fascinating insight into what people watched before we had Hollyoaks or Saw 4 to satisfy our urge for sex scandal and gruesome violence and this is a brilliant opportunity to see it tackled in a unique way. It’s a rare production which will make you laugh all the way through a play first performed in 1606! If SOOP are performing near you do not miss the opportunity to see this.
