Pericles

Synopsis

Pericles is offered the chance to win the hand of King Antiochus s daughter if he can solve a riddle. However solving the riddle reveals a terrible secret about the King that puts Pericles in mortal danger and sets him off on a death-defying voyage. The story takes place in a wondrous and timeless world, on a whirlwind journey through strange kingdoms and across perilous oceans. Pericles faces ruthless tyrants and rival suitors, surviving battles and shipwrecks on the adventure of a lifetime.

Our Review:

25 September 2003

After many years without a Pericles in London, we get two renditions of this rarely performed Shakespeare in successive years. But unlike last year's Moroccan fantasy from the RSC, Neil Bartlett's production fails either to inspire or entertain.

It must be said that Pericles is not a great play, being little more than a series of vignettes linked by the narrator Gower's less than inspiring verse. Its authorship is strongly questioned too, with most authorities believing that the Bard was only responsible for the latter half. Certainly, there's a disjointed quality about it - and the episodic nature represents a major challenge to any director.

In Bartlett's case, the decision to make Gower a pedantic teacher (wearing, for some weird reason, a brown coat - as if the caretaker had stepped up to the lecture podium) works to treat the piece more as morality tale and rather diminishes the effect of the reconciliation scene.

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