Mirthful ‘Shakespeare in Love’
IT IS an astute move on the part of the Fugard to bring back
Shakespeare in Love for another season, given the huge appeal of its familiar plot, exceptional staging and stellar cast, including Bogart the dog.
In addition to such incentives, the current production of Lee Hall’s stage version of this romantic comedy has a dynamic new lead in Daniel Mpilo Richards, who generates palpable chemistry between himself as Shakespeare and the female lead Roxane Haywood – a key factor in the work’s credibility.
Apart from that, Richards has a keen sense of fun, which serves the spirit of Shakespeare in Love to excellent effect.
As the play artfully traces the genesis of Romeo and Juliet, it also lays bare the machinations of theatre-makers in the age of Elizabeth I of England. These may not be edifying, but they certainly offer matter for mirth.
Director Karvellas gauged the requisite balance between lightweight farce and thoughtprovoking drama to a nicety the first time around; now he has refined it still further. Broad comedy sits cheek-by-jowl with philosophical statement and social satire, resulting in a heady mix calculated to satisfy discerning lovers of intelligent theatre, and the ensemble is nearflawless.
Haywood as Lady Viola de Lesseps/Thomas Kent engages audience sympathy with the same ease and elegance as before, but her performance this time is warmer, catching fire from her leading man, and the wig she dons as Thomas is an improvement on the one worn previously.
Among the many other participants in this play, Robyn Scott (Queen Elizabeth) dominates by the force of her personality and spectacular costumes, injecting a dose of none-too-subtle feminism into her portrayal. This resonates with the frustration of spirited women like Lady Viola, whose sex bars them from performing on stage despite their thespian ability. The hilarious array of contenders for parts in Shakespeare’s new play at an audition is not simply there for comic effect; the all-male aspirants are totally out-acted by a woman in disguise.
Darron Araujo (Henslowe), Louis Viljoen (Mr Wabash), Dean Balie (Webster) and Lucy Tops (Nurse) are even more settled in their respective roles through the experience of the earlier run, while John Maytham (Fennyman) and Jason K Ralph (Lord Wessex) act as if their parts were minted for them. Newcomer Armand Aucamp brings panache to the character of Kit Marlowe, and Mark Elderkin impresses as Burbage.
Bravi, and again, bravi, tutti!