Cambridge Devised Theatre at the Headgate Theatre Colchester
06.04.2012
It's
that Shakespearean shape-shifter Robin Goodfellow we see first,
making a very Puckish entrance, upstaging a nervous Ellen Terry. She
is preparing her first one-woman show, an illustrated lecture on The
Women of Shakespeare, and she will spend the next hour frantically
annotating the notes on her lectern, fretting that the memory is not
yet in the body, but only in the head, agonising over the title.
Meanwhile
our merry wanderer, her number one fan, will assume a dozen other
roles – father, lover, critic, parrot – as we follow her life and
career from the age of six, through the Lyceum years to her present
American tour.
The
show, devised by the actors from a script by Ros Connelly, is full of
clever devices. The Victorian venticelli, "slanderous tongues"
for the stalls-bar gossip, and the disembodied voices, such as that
great Man of Letters Bernard Shaw, coming on like a surprise guest on
This Is Your Life. A huge cast of supporting characters vie for our
attention, her leading men and her lovers – Godwin, Watts, Reade,
Irving, little Teddy who grows up to be Edward Gordon Craig.
Alan
Mooney was a magical presence as the voice of them all; changing
character in a moment. I liked his adoring echo – of the Desdemona
speech, for instance - and the all-too-brief snatch of the
"deliberate" Henry Irving style, and the Dresserly glimpse
backstage. His Common Man Stage Manager was perhaps the least
successful of his voices, but a useful extension of his "auditor"
role.
Helen
Cartwright was entirely convincing both as innocent girl and as
grande dame. Her voice was wonderfully rich, and her thoughtful Terry
interpretations of the great roles was fascinating to hear. She wore
a striking gown – Miss Terry was so fond of her frocks – which
recalled many of the roles for which she became famous, the first
actress, we're told, to treat Ophelia, Portia, Lady M and the rest as
real women.
It's
a lot to pack in to 70 minutes: the incredibly colourful private
life, the stage career, her thoughts on Shakespeare's heroines. We
were left wishing for more [and granted it in a post-show talk-out] –
perhaps a companion piece focusing solely on those American lectures.
this piece first appeared on The Public Reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment