'Cymbeline' at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe

Some of the lovely things about the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the little indoors theatre within The Globe is that it's small, it's covered in shiny wood and it's candle-lit. That makes for a great atmosphere, especially when it puts on unusual productions and that's where I saw 'Cymbeline' last week, a Shakespeare play that I've never seen live. I have now.

King Cymbeline's daughter Innogen has married Posthumus, the man she loves, rather than Cloten, the man Cymbeline's chosen (who just happens to be the son of his new wife). This is a bad thing so Posthumus has to flee the kingdom to live in Rome. While there he brags about his wife and her gentility and fidelity to him and generally, the superiority of British women. One of the young Romans, Iachimo (boo hiss) challenges Posthumus to a bet that he can seduce his wife and the foolish Briton accepts. The die is cast for tragedy aplenty, misunderstandings and international travel in the blink of an eye. So yes, Iachimo (boo hiss) meets Innogen and by trickery gets into her bed chamber while she sleeps and he's generally cad-like but Innogen's honour is intact. 

When Posthumus is gulled into believing Iachimo (boo hiss) he instructs his servant who is conveniently now working for Innogen to kill her but he can't do it. He tells Innogen the truth and she dresses as a boy to head off to Rome to see her beloved husband and put things right. And that's where the play starts branching out all over the place. Cymbeline had two sons who were stolen away as babies and we meet them as young men in the wilds of Cambria (ie Wales) with a banished general of Cymbeline's who they think is their father. Somehow Innogen meets her unknown brothers and becomes great friends when suddenly she seems to die and they go off to fight the Romans. They trash the Romans and save Cymbeline's kingdom and then come the big reveals. There are so many things to reveal that it goes on and on and nothing is straighforward. There's also a  great dream sequence in which Posthumus is visited by his dead family and by Jupiter ("sorry Jupiter!").

I won't go into the twists and turns of the plot bacause you should see it with an open mind - other than for Iachimo (boo hiss). This is a great, fun production that brings Shakespeare to life in a way that rarely happens. There's blood on that stage and boldness and fearlessness in a way not often seen. As I said immediately I was outside, that if that was the first play you'd ever seen you'd be hooked on Shakespeare and the theatre for life! Or you might run away and join a troupe of travelling players and perform it yourself. It's a mighty production that deserves to be seen by as many people as possible! 

Before the play began Trevor Fox (who seems to be the Globe's resildent Geordie actor) came on to mention that one of the actors had broken his foot the night before and because the Globe keeps it real and doesn't have understudies, he would attempt to play his part on crutches. But, we shouldn't be surprised if someone else comes on to read his lines from the script if he couldn't continue. He didn't say who the actor was or which role but it turned out to be Eugene O'Hare as the cad Iachimo (boo hiss) and he did very well indeed, making the audience wince every now and then, especially when he worked without his crutches in one scene. Well done Eugene - hope you're walking better by now! (but I still boo hiss Iachimo, obvs).

The star of the show for me was Emily Barber as a surprisingly modern Innogen, never meek or mild, but a strong central character (far more so than Cymbeline himself). I was very impressed with her, whether as princess or as a boy, her central character retained it's strength and power. Good on ya Emily!

I wasn't so sure about Jonjo O'Neill as her erstwhile husband Posthumus but that might have been because it looked like he was wearing jogging bottoms underneath his doublet. He seemed stronger to me in his British scenes with the Roman scenes being a bit stereotyped. I loved Pauline McLynn as the evil queen and stepmother with her asides to the audience - o yes, we're in on your plan all right queenie even if you've duped your husband and the court. I thought she was great fun.

I thought this was a great production that brought Shakespeare to life and makes you think he was having fun with this play - let's throw in every plot device imaginable and it still works! Now that's great writing and it's a great director that brings it all to life. Thank you Sam Yates. Yes, I loved it!

'Measure for Measure' at Shakespeare's Globe

Another trip to the Globe last week, this time to see 'Measure for Measure' on a chilly evening for sitting in an outdoors theatre in August. It was a relief at half-time when I could finally put my jacket on and start warming up before night drew in.  I like the Globe and its atmosphere but it really ought to be warm and sultry of an evening when I'm there.

'Measure for Measure' is one of the 'problem plays' and is an example of where I have my own problems with the writing. It's another tale of a powerful man playing with people's lives simply because he can and I'm never that keen on things like that. In this case, the Duke of Vienna leaves the city in the hands of puritanical Angelo while hanging around diguised as a friar to see what happens. The Duke sees it as an interesting social experiment but he's playing with peeople's lives and some risk death.

The production had me smiling straight away with the play starting off amongst the crowded audience, with drunkards and bawds staggering around grabbing each other and going into the little bawdy houses that looked like painted sheds that had been wheeled in for the first few scenes. Shrieks and laughter and some of the bawdy-lasses climbing ladders to offer their wares to the people in the balcony. It was all great fun and a great example of the Globe using all its space for the performances. I suspect some of the audience were terribly puzzled but I loved it.

The play proper then began with the Duke handing over power to Angelo and leaving abruptly.We meet some of the shady characters like Mistress Overdone who runs the local brothel, Pompey with his slight Geordie accent who works as her pimp and Lucio who is a friend of Claudio and a fop who can't help getting into trouble. Claudio has been arrested under Angelo's new puritanical laws for fornication despite being married to the lady he's got pregnant (it's complicated).

Lucio visits Claudio's sister, Isabella, in the local nunnery to get her to intercede for her brother with Angelo which she does but Angelo gets inflamed with passion and wants her body for his own. He issues her with the ultimatum that she will sleep with him or her brother will die. This is one of the crucial scenes of the play when the puritanical Angelo gives in to his lusts and is on a par with the common soldiers who frequent the bawdy houses but he can hide it. Who would believe Isabella over him with his solid reputation? What is she to do? Protect her virtue at the expense of her brother's life?

Meanwhile we see the impact of Angelo's new regime as the bawdy-houses are closed and even Mistress Overdone is arrested. It's serious this time, a crack-down on the sin that Angelo despises while secretly giving in to his own sins. And this is where the friar comes into his own since he somehow knows that Angelo was bethrothed to Mariana but called off the wedding when the ship carrying her dowry sank and left her penniless. His plan is for her to pretend to be Isabella and sleep with Angelo as his wife and so save both Isabella's virtue and Claudio's life. Seems like a plan until we hear that Angelo has sent an order to the prison to kill Claudio anyway. O dear.

It's all terribly complicated and fast-paced, very colourful and funny in some scenes - I particularly liked constable Elbow who can't get anything right but wore the greatest swishing, baggy trews (you have to see him walking in them to understand). The boring people wore plain, dull clothes but the bawds brought colour to the stage, especially Mistress Overdone in her scarlet dress and Lucio in his green suit. I liked the bawds best - they were fun.

The set was, as ever at the Globe, quite simple, but I didn't quite get the carpets that were laid out on the stage and gradually removed as scens's changed. What was that about? The costumes were great, inventive and imaginative. I particularly liked Lucio's hat with its turquoise blue and green feathers that reminded me of Chris Lowe's jungle hat the last time I saw the Pet Shop Boys (I still want that hat).

I liked the performances but it must be difficult to play Angelo or Isabella since they're so dull and serious. Give me the others any day. I liked Dominic Rowan as the Duke and friar, Brendan O'Hea as the foppish Lucio with his mincing gait, Petra Massey as Mistress Overdone, Trevor Fox as Pompey and Dean Nolan as the daft Elbow.

Musing on it afterwards, I think it's the production I liked more than the play. It's on for another couple of months (not every night, obv) so go and see it if you can - it really is good fun and had even me laughing in places. And it ended with the a version of the usual dance, of course.