Troilus & Cressida (RSC)

This being said, there are some positives to draw from this production. Scott Handy is outstanding as Ulysses – one of the most intelligent and engaging verse-speaking performances you are likely to see. It is a complex role and requires enormous skill to convey the political, philosophical and rhetorical nuances that the text demands – he is on top form and he deserves to be given lead roles with the company on a regular basis. Danny Webb (a strongly characterised Agamemnon) and Zubin Varla (who gives a provocative and bold interpretation of Thersites) both make powerful contributions to the production.

One technical element I found particularly impressive and effective is the use of projection. In the Trojan scenes, the characters do not cast shadows, they cast light. This has a mesmerising effect and, whilst it is hard to describe, it is one thing that will stay with me when other memories of the production have faded.

However it is the cast from The Wooster Group who really do not meet the standards that we have come to expect on a Stratford stage. I appreciate that they come from a different, more experimental background, but they show no real understanding of the language or character and this fundamentally undermines the text to such an extent that it’s difficult not to tune out whenever their scenes start. Quite frankly, I have never heard Shakespeare spoken so badly.

They use extracts from various film sources to provide cues to their physical interpretations – and they make use of several screens round the stage area as prompts. The effect, however, is such that it appears the actors are focussed more on the screens and ensuring that their movements coincide with the video rather than being engaged in the scene taking place on stage.

The US cast play all of the Trojan characters (with their UK counterparts playing the Greeks) – which is an understandable choice. What is less clear is why the Trojans are being costumed as modern day Native Americans (with elements of grunge and hippy cultures).

The confusion is further compounded with the decision to give the Trojans Irish-American accents. The lack of aesthetic clarity combined with the poor command of Shakespeare’s text is fatal to the production as a whole.
It is clear from reports that audience members have been walking out during early shows and the same happened during this performance. I cannot blame people for taking such a decision – had I not been reviewing, I would have done exactly the same thing.

The RSC are right in wanting to reach out and to work with companies from round the world. The management team do have to make sure that these productions meet the same standards that audiences expect – and if they fail (such as has happened here) then appropriate action should be taken.

What I do not want to happen is for the company to stop experimenting, to stop taking risks. However I do not wish any future audiences to have to endure a production such as this. Some experiments should remain in the rehearsal room.

– Simon Tavener