|
|
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2016 11:59:14 GMT
Saw the third preview of this last night: generally enjoyed it, performances were great and nice to see a big-scale production of it. It was a long evening - started at 7:15 and we got out about 10:50  - quoted running time was 3 hours 5 minutes + interval so I assume it will tighten up a bit. Setting is sort-of post-apocalyptic - someone has been watching Mad Max. Plenty of gender swapping - one of Cymbeline's lost sons is a daughter (which works fine), and also of course Cymbeline is a woman. This seems an odd choice as Cymbeline is a rubbish character (he/she is basically a total idiot who wanders on and shouts now and again) and Innogen's stepmother is much more interesting , but here is turned into a man. And they don't really do anything with the fact she's a woman, other than in the battle scene she is surrounded by Romans, has a bag put over her head and her trousers removed, with the implication she's about to be sexually assaulted. Which I thought was a bit tasteless. As was the scene just afterwards where Posthumous removes a man's trousers and boxers and threatens to shove a baseball bat up his backside In general the battle scenes in the second half are very violent and quite graphic, bit of a gore warning if you are bothered by that sort of thing. Imagine they will get complaints about some of this, could do with some mention of "adult content" on the website. Annoying directorial intervention - a lot of the scenes featuring non-English characters have their dialogue translated into their own language, with the English translation projected as subtitles on to the back of the set, which was unreadable from a lot of the side seats. Wonder if this will survive past previews? Also various things projected on the back wall which weren't visible from the sides. Amusing directorial intervention - At the end Cymbeline tells the Romans that refusing to pay Britain's membership fees for the empire was all the fault of her evil husband and stepson who is now dead, and that despite trouncing the Romans in battle and chopping lots of heads off, she will start paying it again. She then orders both British and Roman standards to be flown at which point we see the Union Jack and the European Union flags. (or those at the front do - you may see one of the flags if you're at the side!) |
|
5,688 posts
|
Post by lynette on May 3, 2016 15:03:24 GMT
OMG sounds dreadful.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2016 17:04:38 GMT
On the new tour "From Page to Stage" at The Other Place, you usually get a peek through a viewing window into one of the rehearsal rooms, and Cymbeline was in rehearsal when I went on the tour, which also includes a costume store.
|
|
353 posts
|
Post by cirque on May 3, 2016 20:31:30 GMT
I give up. This is dreadful. RSC have hit the lowest depths for me with this awful production. Design,speaking,length,sheer dullness....good directors graveyard it seems. What has happened to this company...? Sorry to go on but one is led to believe that RSC are leaders in theatre...they are not,outclassed and outstaged in many UK theatres now.
I am saddened and angered by what is happening.
|
|
|
|
Post by crabtree on May 3, 2016 20:43:32 GMT
ah concepts......
how do they do the deus ex Machina?
|
|
181 posts
|
Post by caa on May 3, 2016 20:44:42 GMT
Sounds like a good one to miss when it comes to the Barbican
|
|
|
|
Post by crabtree on May 3, 2016 22:12:38 GMT
It's certainly an odd piece, but I have seen it work many times, and of course, it features in a truly memorable sequence in Theatre of Blood.
|
|
|
|
Post by theatremad on May 4, 2016 15:26:02 GMT
I disagree with the above negative reviews. Though this is by no means a seminal production it is well worth the visit. If you forget the idea of the concept and just enjoy the show it works, though the EU reference ruins the last 5 minutes.
The deus ex machina moment is imaginatively staged and works (at least as far as I'm concerned).
Yes, the translations into other languages don't add much, and yes the feminising of certain roles does muddy the waters occaasionally, but to me it brings out some interesting moments, that bring a new 'light' to the text.
The 1997 Adrian Noble production was better, but this is a more intelligent rethink than the travesty of the 2006 Kneehigh show or the train wreck that was the Troilus and Cressida recently.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 9, 2016 10:55:51 GMT
Remaining press night tickets are £10 with offer code 14615, or use the link in this tweet
|
|
137 posts
|
Post by jason71 on May 10, 2016 21:56:31 GMT
Watched this tonight. I enjoyed it. The production was not first rate. The main fault was the foreign languages being used. It was almost impossible to read the translations on the stage. I enjoyed the majority of the performances. The whole show clocked at 210mins.
Tonight has been £10 well spent
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 18, 2016 14:03:12 GMT
|
|
1,052 posts
|
Post by David J on Jun 3, 2016 22:29:32 GMT
I'm going to say I enjoyed this production immensely. Even my mum, who did not like the sound of this post-apocalyptic concept, liked it by the end.
It was also understudy Temi Wilkey's turn as Imogen, due to an indisposition of Bethan Cullinane, and she gave a brilliant performance. She played the youngster perfectly, and in comparison to Emily Barber from the Sam Wanamaker production I thought she portrayed the characters journey during the second half clearly and poignantly. You see all the calamity she goes through and how it changes her, and her ending left me welling up.
The gender swap surprisingly worked. I thought it would be stupid to deny an actress the villainous queen, who has more to do than Cymbeline. But from what I could tell the Queen-now-Duke role has been cut down, giving James Clyde less time in the limelight. Instead it was in fact Gillian Bevan who had so much presence as this motherly Cymbeline overlooking her divided kingdom.
That said, giving less attention to the Duke meant that Cloten had less of a presence as well. I missed the spoilt, mother's boy brat from the Sam Wanamaker's production. Marcus Griffith's acted like an ordinary bloke, apart from his occasional stop for failling to woo Imogen. Despite the character's downsides, I felt bad for his outcome.
If there's one thing I will give the Sam Wanamaker points for though is its simplicity and clarity. I didn't mind Melly Still's 'concepts' for 75% of the production (though those subtitles were completely unnecessary). Then when it came for the battle and vision scenes I had no clue what was going on.
Sure the plot gets convoluted at that point (and I'm sure there were bits that weren't in the Sam Wanamaker version) but Melly Still throws everything into the last 25% of the production and it felt like I was going on an acid trip. Up until the last scene it was a complete mess.
|
|
5,688 posts
|
Post by lynette on Aug 5, 2016 22:51:13 GMT
We had an understudy for posthumous but I didn't know this until the cast clapped him at the end. He was v good. I had been v concerned about this because of some of the comments above but I can honestly say I enjoyed it. The sex changes were ok, once you change Cymbeline into a woman it made sense to make one of the lost children a girl and she made the most of it! Same with Pisonia.
Did they have flags at the end? If they did I missed them. The EU thing is utterly daft and makes no sense at all. The show is much better than such a limited and prejudiced interpretation. They should ditch the programme which is a piece of pro EU crap. And I say this with no axe to grind. It is a poor piece of journalism regardless of the 'side' you are on. I wish the RSC would stop thinking every single show has to be political. It works sometimes and I could list the successes but my goodness when it is poorly thought out it irritates and at worst bores. After an African Hamlet and an EU Cymbeline, I wonder what next? So...just another midnight rant. So do ignore.
Go to this show. It is lovely - the lament over the seemingly dead Imogen is really superb.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 21:37:12 GMT
I've decided to follow a sudden impulse to do the double next week - Melly Still's Cymbeline in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Matthew Dunster's Imogen in Shakespeare's Globe.
|
|
433 posts
|
Post by DuchessConstance on Sept 30, 2016 22:43:08 GMT
I thought the production had a great deal of clarity, and the setting and the gender-swap both worked well, but some of the staging choices were annoying, distracting and confusing. I can understand the thought processes behind them, but they didn't translate well to the audience.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2016 1:20:08 GMT
I wish I hadn't bothered to see this. It is awful in every aspect. The direction is just baffling, if you don't already know the play, except for the long long scenes which go on forever and so are a bit boring. Most of the actors have chosen to do their entire part in a funny voice, which does nothing to aid our comprehension. Innogen seems to be based on Violet Elizabeth Bott and is exceedingly irritating. Cymbeline is quiet and indistinct so I missed most of her words. Posthumus virtually sings it all in a horrid squeaky register. Cloten is about the only character to speak normally, which is a huge relief, but the actor still can't make much of the part, unfortunately. The only actor whose performance I genuinely appreciated was James Cooney as one of the secret princes.
In the programme, Greg Doran gushes that Cymbeline and King Lear together make an RSC Ancient Britain season, which is the biggeest load of bollocks I've ever read anywhere.
This production is a complete misfire and a waste of everyone's time and effort - company and audience. It's just dreadful.
|
|
1,119 posts
|
Post by martin1965 on Oct 7, 2016 3:52:48 GMT
I liked it!
|
|
|
|
Post by Jan on Oct 7, 2016 6:04:44 GMT
I wish I hadn't bothered to see this. It is awful in every aspect. The direction is just baffling, if you don't already know the play, except for the long long scenes which go on forever and so are a bit boring. Most of the actors have chosen to do their entire part in a funny voice, which does nothing to aid our comprehension. Innogen seems to be based on Violet Elizabeth Bott and is exceedingly irritating. Cymbeline is quiet and indistinct so I missed most of her words. Posthumus virtually sings it all in a horrid squeaky register. Cloten is about the only character to speak normally, which is a huge relief, but the actor still can't make much of the part, unfortunately. The only actor whose performance I genuinely appreciated was James Cooney as one of the secret princes. In the programme, Greg Doran gushes that Cymbeline and King Lear together make an RSC Ancient Britain season, which is the biggeest load of bollocks I've ever read anywhere. This production is a complete misfire and a waste of everyone's time and effort - company and audience. It's just dreadful. Hmmm. Thanks for that. I will still see it but not with any great expectations. Certain scenes can be quite compelling when done well. Surprised you bought a programme though - won the pools ? |
|
1,119 posts
|
Post by martin1965 on Oct 7, 2016 9:42:03 GMT
I wish I hadn't bothered to see this. It is awful in every aspect. The direction is just baffling, if you don't already know the play, except for the long long scenes which go on forever and so are a bit boring. Most of the actors have chosen to do their entire part in a funny voice, which does nothing to aid our comprehension. Innogen seems to be based on Violet Elizabeth Bott and is exceedingly irritating. Cymbeline is quiet and indistinct so I missed most of her words. Posthumus virtually sings it all in a horrid squeaky register. Cloten is about the only character to speak normally, which is a huge relief, but the actor still can't make much of the part, unfortunately. The only actor whose performance I genuinely appreciated was James Cooney as one of the secret princes. In the programme, Greg Doran gushes that Cymbeline and King Lear together make an RSC Ancient Britain season, which is the biggeest load of bollocks I've ever read anywhere. This production is a complete misfire and a waste of everyone's time and effort - company and audience. It's just dreadful. Hmmm. Thanks for that. I will still see it but not with any great expectations. Certain scenes can be quite compelling when done well. Surprised you bought a programme though - won the pools ? That seems to sum up your theatregoing Jan! |
|
|
|
Post by Jan on Oct 7, 2016 10:25:24 GMT
Hmmm. Thanks for that. I will still see it but not with any great expectations. Certain scenes can be quite compelling when done well. Surprised you bought a programme though - won the pools ? That seems to sum up your theatregoing Jan! You have to open a lot of oysters before you find a pearl. I have seen this play six times - the best were Peter Hall's NT production and the Cheek by Jowl version. |
|
20 posts
|
Post by grit on Oct 10, 2016 20:10:28 GMT
Teens conclusions of Cymbeline (second time at RSC, first time understudy performance) were that it had a better pacing 2nd time around, but lengths of the text still seemed like they were recited rather than had the drama ripped out of them (this is when we miss the old Shakespeare's Globe, when the actors used their rehearsal time to gut these scripts for the audience because there was nought else on stage).
Some text-heavy parts of this Cymbeline passed us by. The time shifts exaggerated the play's episodic feel - we started with present-day video / glass box round tree stump as if in memory and recollection, but we later move to the native Britain hovel in woods; then time flip again between modern Italian 'style' dress but with Latin speech; Imogen looks like Madonna c1984 and Posthumus a strange costume mash of cyclist and Tudor.
The teens enjoyed the two kidnapped characters, especially the girl Polydore/Guidaria: they liked her unrepentent style after killing Cloten. And his prop head is excellent! But none of us really sympathised with Posthumus - we found him a bit annoying; that made it difficult to believe Imogen would love him quite so much.
I think it's a difficult play to put on - it's a lot incoherent and seems to demand from the audience a full range of responses from incredulity to pity to laughter but because those reactions are one after the other it's difficlut to build up any emotional depth.
Some interesting discussion afterwards about what was happening in Shakespeare's time to bring about the play - does anyone know what historical circumstances in the 16/17Cth gave rise to Cymbeline?
|
|
1,052 posts
|
Post by David J on Oct 10, 2016 23:02:01 GMT
It was written around the time of James I vying for the British Isles to unite. The ending sees war end and the British nations and those abroad come together for peace
Shakespeare was also keen to show James as the true heir to the throne (as shown in Macbeth). James is related to the House of Tudor, a family that came from Wales, which is where Cymbeline rules from in this play.
Milford Haven is also mentioned in the play, which is where Henry Tudor landed on his way to defeating Richard III at Bosworth. A nice little shout out from Shakespeare to the Tudor Myth
|
|
103 posts
|
Post by sondheimhats on Nov 20, 2016 16:01:02 GMT
I, for one, really enjoyed this production. Yes, it was a bit too busy at times, and maybe not every directorial decision landed quite to the degree that it could have. But it was a bold, intelligent concept that really served the text, in my opinion. I thought the design and music were beautiful, and I enjoyed the use of translated text. It was still 3 and a half hours on Friday night, but it didn't feel long to me at all.
|
|
103 posts
|
Post by sondheimhats on Nov 21, 2016 16:20:51 GMT
I thought the design and music were beautiful I shelled out a fiver on the CD, I was that interested. I didn't notice they were selling a CD! and £5 isn't too bad. Does it include Fear No More? |
|
|
|
Post by Jan on Nov 25, 2016 6:51:11 GMT
I wish I hadn't bothered to see this. It is awful in every aspect. The direction is just baffling, if you don't already know the play, except for the long long scenes which go on forever and so are a bit boring. Most of the actors have chosen to do their entire part in a funny voice, which does nothing to aid our comprehension. Innogen seems to be based on Violet Elizabeth Bott and is exceedingly irritating. Cymbeline is quiet and indistinct so I missed most of her words. Posthumus virtually sings it all in a horrid squeaky register. Cloten is about the only character to speak normally, which is a huge relief, but the actor still can't make much of the part, unfortunately. The only actor whose performance I genuinely appreciated was James Cooney as one of the secret princes. In the programme, Greg Doran gushes that Cymbeline and King Lear together make an RSC Ancient Britain season, which is the biggeest load of bollocks I've ever read anywhere. This production is a complete misfire and a waste of everyone's time and effort - company and audience. It's just dreadful. I was comped a ticket for this so I felt somewhat more benign towards it, but in general I agree with your points. Innogen is a good part and I have seen it brilliantly done (Harriet Walter) but here it was a bit one-note. My main problem was the direction, in my view Melly Still really can't direct actors that well and she gets side-tracked with staging and design gimmicks which get in the way of the play rather than illuminating the text (the projected translated text here is an example). The set is her usual big mess with distracting bits and pieces continually falling down from the ceiling and then a bit of the stage is hauled up for the Milford Haven cave scenes and then hangs there inappropriately throughout all the scenes in the second half. These distractions are a big problem in the first scene which is full of important exposition - I wonder if people who had never seen the play before could follow what was going on. Gender-swapping Cymbeline is an idea with some merit but not if you then play her as a pantomine villain. It was interesting to see the full play with the masque for Jupiter retained though. 3 stars. |
|
- quoted running time was 3 hours 5 minutes + interval so I assume it will tighten up a bit.
