Synopsis In the wake of a change of regime in Troy, the Gods are busy re-establishing order among their human subjects. Concerned for the well-being of Aeneas and his men, who are shipwrecked and besieged at sea by storms after fleeing Troy, Aeneas' mother Venus persuades Jupiter to give the sufferers some respite. With his fellow survivors, Aeneas arrives on the strange African coast of Carthage. Haunted by the treachery and misery of the Trojans' defeat, he is greeted by the beautiful Queen Dido. At the contrivance of Venus and her son Cupid, Dido and Aeneas begin a passionate romance.
As the RSC seems to have given up on Shakespeare’s precursors and contemporaries, it's great news that the National is reviving Christopher Marlowe’s first play, and in such a fine, insidiously involving production as this one by James Macdonald in the Cottesloe.
Six years ago, the Globe produced a somewhat garbled version in a playground setting – misguidedly taking a cue from the fact that the play’s first recorded performance was by the Children of the Chapel in Croydon before the Queen in 1591.
The story closely follows the early books of Virgil’s Aeneid. Aeneas, travelling to Italy from the defeat at Troy, is waylaid in North Africa by the queen, guided there by his mother, the goddess Venus. Seducing Dido with tales of valour and destruction, the queen arranges a hunting expedition where their love is consummated in a cave during a storm.
But duty calls and tragedy ensues. Anastasia Hille plays Dido with a quivering uncertainty from the off, almost hyperventilating in the soldier’s presence and treating her other suitor, the neighbouring king Iarbus (Obi Abili) with casual contempt. Mark Bonnar, an outstanding Orsino in the Donmar’s Twelfth Night, is an utterly convincing, war-scarred Aeneas, dragging his son Ascanius (Thomas Patten on opening night) behind him.
The iambic pentameters roll out with generous, inventive profusion as Marlowe presents the Trojan stragglers, a sybaritic Jupiter (Alan David) and an interfering Venus (Siobhan Redmond) while developing a sub-plot fixation of Dido’s sister, Anna (Sian Brooke), on Iarbus. There is some lovely, plangent music by Orlando Gough.
Instead of clamour, Macdonald settles on a hushed intensity, with Tobias Hoheisel’s designs of simple curtains and an upper level, and Moritz Junge’s casually mixed costumes, creating a louche, contemporary atmosphere with historical trappings. No-one with the faintest interest in Elizabethan drama will want to miss the production, or revel in its language.
Stephen Kennedy is a fine Achates, Aeneas’ friend, and Susan Engel doubles as the spurned Juno and Cupid’s nurse with her wonderful speech of fruits, flowers and fishes. All passion spent, Dido prepares her funeral pyre with the rapt purpose of Cleopatra summoning the poisoned snakes, and Hille achieves an inner calm at last as she piles Aeneas’ “ticing relics” – his sword, letters, oars and rigging – and reaches for the matches and petrol.
Hard going as Marlowe can be I persevered with this production because it looked so good - top marks to the set designer then, but how tedious it all became. Someone here describes the audience as being in a near catatonic state - I can vouch for that, but yet it had flashes of brilliance, sadly none too often and seemingly not in the control of the director either. I saw an absolutely hysterical drag production at The Oval House theatre a lifetime ago. It had me in stitches for the whole evening - camp was not the word for it. How I wished for just some of that exhuberance tonight. Maybe then I would have got a real flavour of Elizabethan theatre instead of a flashy, but dull and reasonably competent production by NT Ltd? - rds
14 Apr 09
Marlowe's life is like something from the pages of a thriller, so it is particularly disappointing that this play should be so turgid. It is not helped by James Macdonald's funereal direction, a shoddy stage design and a strange feeling of amateurism which created a near catatonic trance in the audience. - David Baxter
14 Apr 09
A magnificent production in which Anastasie Hille shines in the very best performance of her wonderful career. She is remarkable in conveying the enormous depth of love that Dido has for Aeneas as well as the capriciousness that goes with that love. Mark Bonnar, too, is thrilling notably in his spellbinding account of the fall of Troy. All concerned deserved huge acclaim. A triumph. - fred
14 Apr 09
Thought this was a brilliant and compelling production. Anastasia Hille was incredible in the title role as were the majority of the supporting cast. The costumes in particular quite wonderful. The pared down staging in general accentuates the quality of the acting. - JJE
01 Apr 09
I wonder if we saw a different production to the reviewers below? We loved it, thought Anastasia Hille in particular was superb. Gut-wrenching and emotional, loved the costumes and the staging. - LDE
31 Mar 09
Ditto, ils. This review baffles me. - Job
25 Mar 09
What was the National theatre thnking of when they commissioned such a cheap looking production. The set is awful and the hard work by the actors does not lift the play which is quite dismal and I have to say I was bored stiff during most of it. The whole production looks as though the National could not be bothered and it only comes to life in the final few minutes so you have stay with a long play when you want to leave but do not want to disturb the other members of the audience and you hope it will get better. Unfortunately it does not and from what I heard on exiting the theatre other people though this too. - ils
Whatsonstage.com - Discount London theatre tickets, theatre news and reviews, Theatre videos, Theatre discussion, National Theatre Listings. Covering London's West End, all of Theatreland and all UK theatre. The best
for London Theatre Ticket Discounts.
