[Alnoor]

Hi
Please note this may contain some spoilers.

Went to see this production yesterday. It is in previews and as it was only the second preview, hopefully it will get better.
For a lot of the cast this is their debut RSC season and in the first half this was clearly obviuos. After the first 15 odd minutes my thoughts were--was this really an RSC production at Stratford? The play continued and I have to admit Portia and Shylock were very good..
After the interval there were quite a few empty seats and the actor playing Bassanio certainly improved. But what on earth was going on with Antonio?. He kept making faces, particularly moving his lower lip and jaw. Either it was Antonio emoting extremely badly or the actor was nervous and ready to cry.
The Director needs to tighten this production as there were important scenes --in the court--where a lot of the exchange especially between Bassanio and Antonio is visibly blocked by the guards who were stood in the 'gangway'.

The set was okay but again when Gratiano is handing over the rings to Portia and Nerissa who are in disguise, we never see their faces as the set either was playing up or the Director wants us to see the lower half of their bodies.

It is 3 hours long.

It ends with the most ridiculous last 3 minutes I have ever seen.

What on earth is the Director playing at in the last scene?

Final verdict--below average
although the last few minutes make it 'shambolic' .

I have seen a lot of productions over the years and have always been reasonably positive even though some productions have not been very good. May be I am now getting old and am losing some of my patience but this production is not RSC standard.
Some may say it is still in previews but last month I saw the second preview of Major Barbara and it was excellent.

Lets see what others have to say about this.

Alnoor

[Lynette]

Sounds awful! They did change the ending to Much Ado, the Cuban one, completely - I saw a very early preview and then a show later in the season. They changed it for the better I should add. Merchant such a tricky play anyway, best done straight no gimmicks. I'm going in May.
How are you anyway, Alnoor? Got your Hamlet tix - Dr Who and Jude law, both?

[Jenny_tyr]

Well this doesn't sound too promising, but many RSC productions these days tend to evolve from the first previews, and in many cases even after opening night, so I hope that things get better, and I won't be seeing this one until September, hopefully it'll be a lot better than this by then. I'm a little surprised to hear that Jack Laskey as Bassanio wasn't all that great, as I certainly think he has the ability to shine in that role, but maybe it's a case of being nervous at the beginning of a big production in Stratford. It'll be interesting to hear further reports as this production finds its feet.

Alnoor, what was it about the end that was so bad that you even described it as being "shambolic"?

//Jenny

[Alnoor]

***SPOLIER***

Jenny---What I found shambolic was that the play ends with a dance where all the characters (Christians) start the dance and then Shylock joins them. This is an extremely uncomfortable play and with Shylocks inclusion in the dance drains the tension from the play.


Lynette--I am very well thanks. Yes I have booked for both the Hamlet productions. Am off to the Big Apple next month to see some shows!


Alnoor

[Welthorpe]

Have to agree with Alnoor on this one. The "rings" scene was either clearly intentional or they hadn't fixed it yet! The play starts and ends with a folksy dance that adds nothing to the play (other than minutes). Another gripe is that when the suitors face the caskets and are supposed to read the inscriptions they hardly look at them and read it to the gallery - same with the resulting riddles. Ridiculous. Only Balthasar seems to understand the concept of "reading".

I also agree it picked up in the second half - but not much.

For the most part I was left thinking that the director had failed to encourage the actors to explore any character. It was relatively well spoken and clear for the most part (blissfully free of the shouting that hinders some productions) - but it looked to me like a "good read through" rather than a worked play.

I quite likes Angus Wright's Shylock - without being griped by it. Nicely free of cliche, but again, not much more than a cold reading. The Gobbo (old and young) scenes are dreadfully unfunny. For me, only Amanda Hadingue's Nerissa showed any real sign of inhabiting the part.

Yes, it's a difficult play to pull off - but last year's Theatre for a New Audience production showed how it can be done well. This was just dull. I suspect Alnoor is right and that it will develop and settle down - but it has a way to go.

My fear is that few directors have mastered the Courtyard space yet. Michael Boyd did a decent job and Lear was a good use of space - but a lot of others have been poor. It'll be interesting to see how Greg Doran copes - he has a decent track record in the Swan so perhaps he will manage OK.

[Lynette]

O My - what, Shylock dancing at the end? I know it is a tricky non politically correct play but there are ways and ways. [ Sorry for the spoiler but I think we've thoroughly trounced the show now anyway] The Henry Goodman interpretation at the Cottesloe was about the best I've seen. [ the worst was surely the US version with huge coffins as 'caskets at the Barbican]

At the Globe last season, I was embarrassed to see the touristy and young audience taking in the NPC parts. swallowed whole as it were. The actors looked embarrassed too. I always thought it was possible to put this play on in the UK without needing a long footnote to explain context etc but now I'm not so sure. This RSC show sounds dire. I'll have to have to make sure I take in a full packet of sweeties and a plastic cup of chardonnay to cope.

[Lynette]

ps have a great time in NY, Alnoor!