Hail, Nero! A spinning top of rage and reason
Britannicus (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith) Verdict: Lofty talent showcase
★★★☆☆
AGENTS and acting scouts should head to Hammersmith, to behold a fine selection of emerging talent.
The occasion is Timberlake Wertenbaker’s adaptation of Jean Racine’s French tragedy Britannicus, about the Roman Emperor Nero’s infatuation with his brother’s lover, Junia. A prototype Ryan Giggs, you might say.
Told in a daisy chain of lofty rhetorical speeches over one hour and 40 minutes (without an interval), it’s certainly a challenge to modern attention spans, demolished by TikTok.
There is, however, a stunning turn by William Robinson that put me in mind of a young Derek Jacobi. His Nero, clad in designer sportswear, is a specialist in unhinged mood swings, oscillating between reason and tantrums without ever lapsing into parody.
There are great performances, too, from Sirine Saba as Nero’s power-crazed mother Agrippina, who starts as a cold wind and erupts into a full-blown tempest.
And as the object of Nero’s ardour, Shyvonne Ahmmad invests her character’s virginal purity with emotional ferocity.
The other star is director Atri Banerjee, whose ceremonial production combines a water cooler, palatial carpet and huge tapestry of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, suckling on a she-wolf. Designer Rosanna Vize is another name to watch.
Rattling movements performed by the cast between scenes, as if trapped on a dangerously rickety train, are a little outré. And the severe tone of the play may be seen as insufficient reward for our patience. But there’s also much to admire.
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