Coriolanus

Synopsis

Young, valiant, proud and brave, Caius Marcius is an unequalled warrior in battle and rewarded with the title Coriolanus for his services to Rome. However, his arrogance and unyielding nature eventually turn his once beloved citizens against him, and he is banished. Raising a mighty army, Coriolanus marches on Rome and brings it to the brink of absolute destruction. But in the most famous scene in the play his family beg him to spare the city, their pleading finally breaks him and by agreeing, he condemns himself to bloody murder.

Our Review:

11 May 2006

The first production under Dominic Dromgoole’s reign as artistic director, and the first production in the "Edges of Rome" season: Coriolanus is a play made for the expanse of the Globe, where the groundlings crowd the stage. It’s a piece that’s dominated by mobs, a play that, even more than Julius Caesar, depends for its plot shifts on the power of mob rule.

It’s disappointing then that Dromgoole’s production doesn’t draw on one of the great strengths of this theatre: the ready-made crowd. It’s true that the Roman citizens (all eight of them) make their first appearance from the depths of the groundlings, but the audience remains an under-used asset.

The stage causes problems in other ways too. The background noise and the acoustics could defeat many an actor and the production gets off to an uncertain start. There are some garbled speeches, words lost in the breeze or drowned out by aircraft noise. This is frequently a problem at this the...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

82.110.212.210) - 21 July 2006:

This was my first trip to te Globe and before I went I thought maybe I was asking for trouble by picking a play considered to be a "hard"one to stand through. How wrong I was! I throughly enjoyed every moment and would strongly recommend to all. Cake was simply superb! And if, like me you are worried about standing for 3hrs - don't be. The time flies by!...

Read more and add your own review