Drama
It's a bit of a Wilde week, this week. Whilst the new Oscar Wilde Society offers us a nice safe comedy of manners in An Ideal Husband, Highestate.co.uk Productions brings us Salome
One of 'those' plays. In 1892, it's biblical roots and content were considered so offensive that it was banned by the Lord Chancellor. That contributed to a reputation which was, for many years, in much the same mould as Lady Chatterly's Lover. On the face of it, it no longer has the power to shock, and today companies must work hard to convey the same impact the play enjoyed over a century ago. Produced (and marketed) by Peter Orlov, this new production manages to achieve that, with a strong cast and good direction.
Salome is a woman that men would (and indeed do) kill themselves for. At the same time she is a pampered and clueless princess, who has no idea of the consequences of her actions. Director Jon Morton evokes her dream like separation from reality through minimal staging and props, up until the climax, when reality quite literally grabs her by the throat. It seems to work, and like many minimalist interpretations, it serves to further highlight the strength of the production. Morton is a fresher, and if this play is a good indication, then we can expect great things from him in the future. He's also at the BT this week (Wednesday) with his Cuppers entry "Naomi in the Living Room."
To really make this play work needs a pinch of madness. Well, two actually. Herod and Jokanaan are quite clearly round the twist, albeit in very different ways, and this play demands actors that can live up to that madness. In Will Kwong and Chris Richards, Morton finds the perfect match. Richards brings his american accent to the role of the evangelist, and when he was in full tirade against the whore of Babylon (Herodias, played by Emma Hill-French), I half expected him to ask people to "Pledge NOW!" That's certainly not a criticism, and like the truly manic Kwong, who seemed to be on the verge of a seizure at times, he brings his character to life brilliantly. Heordias, unlike her daughter and husband is neither detatched nor insane, and Emma Hill-French plays the shrewish queen somewhere between Lady Macbeth and Lillith from "Cheers". Drawing sympathy for King Herod is an uphill struggle, and I hope she won't take offense if I say that she does it with ease. At least we all know what Herod did to deserve her! Amy Hayes is wonderful in the title role, by turns devious, seductive, vulnerable, and with more than a suggestion of Violet Elizabeth... "I'll thcream and thcream and thcream 'til I'm thick!"
HighEstate.co.uk Productions (The name apparently a brilliant web-marketing ploy by Mr. Orlov), previously brought you "Madame De Sade". With that under their belt, they're obviously well equipped to take on this tragedy, with its tortured characters and deep symbolism. Watching it is a draining experience, but so it should be. It's one of those plays.
Matthew Taylor
The performance consists of four scenes and lasts for about twenty minutes. It is the first production by the newly founded Oscar Wilde Society. The play is a touching comedy with Wilde's typical light tone and brilliant dialogues. The four scenes belong to the key-scenes of the play and are acted in a delightful way. This is because of the serious faces of the actors connected with the humour of the dialogue, which make the audience smile or even laugh. On the other hand the tense parts are acted with suggestiveness and it is guaranteed that you won't be bored.
The actors are mainly wearing black clothes or suits apart from Lady Chiltern, who personifies the gentle good. Both the costumes and the interior are sober, which underlines the wit of the play.
The plot is about a rising politician, Sir Robert Chiltern, who is dearly loved by his enchanting wife Lady Chiltern. The couple live happily until the day when the devious Mrs Cheveley returns back from Vienna. She tries to blackmail Sir Robert about a fraud he committed, which brought him his present position. His wife is very upset by her husband's past, he isn't the ideal husband she thought he was and Sir Robert tries not to lose her. The friend of the family, smart dandy Arthur Goring, is supporting the couple and helps them to find a solution. At the same time he tries to win the sister of Sir Chiltern - Mabel, whom he loves and to keep a distance from his father.
The first scene is about the dialogue of Mrs Cheveley and Sir Robert when she tries to blackmail him about a past indiscretion. She tells him to withdraw his report in the Parliament. The next scene deals with the tense situation after Lady Chiltern came to know the truth about her husband's past. The third scene is about the essential dialogue between Lord Goring and Mrs Cheveley. This is the turning point in the play. The last scene is presenting Lord Goring and his beloved Mabel, when he proposes to her.
The performance is acted in a smooth and brisk way. How to decide for yourself? Well, just see it and enjoy the pre-show drinks on the opening night on Tuesday 13th November.
Laura Teodorescu
The lyrical Odyssey of the Boyz 'n' the Bard? This is an invocation. For I must write about a hip-hop play called 'Rome and Jewels', which I have not yet seen.
The title suggests we should brace for another modern spin on or adaptation of the Shakespeare/Luhrman legacy. Except this time Juliet is only present by implication - arty!
On this positive note I blindly began an interview with D. Sabela Grimes, a 'hip-hop homie', and one of Rennie Harris' troupe of dancers, of which I knew nothing. Determined not to launch into another b-bopping, non-stopping hip-hop diatribe, I had magnified all of my initial suspicions. It didn't last long; a combination of a startlingly beautiful voice and an honest, unwavering, passion for dance melted away the critic in me.
Besides, it seems that the rest of the world can't get enough of Rennie Harris, the critically acclaimed dancer and choreo-grapher of Puremovements. The company has performed to sold out performances throughout the United States. Harris is being called 'the Basquiat of the US contemporary dance scene' by the Times, and was recently voted one of the most influential people in Philadelphia in the last hundred years. And 'Rome and Jewels' has proved to be another triumph for hip-hop.
This time the challenge has been to capture the essence of breakdancing, an underground, spontaneous dance and channel it's energy into the theatre. What's more the breakdancing comes with all it's entourage - Djing, rapping, gold chains and of course the baggy pants.
And why not? By the sound of it the 'street entertainment' seems to flourish under the stage lighting. If hip-hop music junkies are in search of the perfect beat, then it seems the Caps (Capulets) and Monster- Q's (Montagues) are in search of the perfect break. And not stopping at this, it appears that they are searching for the perfect verse. Rapping Shakespeare style was an unexpected organic progression. The process of writing the script must have been both exciting and fun judging by the ease with which lines like 'Homie-oh, homie-oh' lace the script.
Certainly there are striking parallels to be drawn. Shakespeare, the renowned bard, is a lyrical genius, shamelessly fond of manipulating words. He has an ironic sense-of-humour, the pseudo-clown often speaking less but saying more than the quasi-intelligent, and an annoying tendency for perfect delivery. These qualities are 'must-haves' when I buy a hip-hop album. More than this, Shakespeare is completely clued up when it comes to understanding people. He has an acute perception of the human psyche, a skill he uses to bring to life an ever-impressive array of characters complete in their own right. I have a suspicion that Will S himself would have been admired had he been a ghetto boy, for 'keepin' it real' as it were!
Despite these obvious assets many have retained reservations. 'Where art thou Juliet' screams Judith Mackrell, dance critic from the Guardian. She faults the plot and not the dancing in this case. 'All intense background, but no story' is the essence of her objection. Quite serious really.
In a labour of love I cautiously take up this point with D. Sabela Grimes, who plays Benvolio, more fittingly christened Ben V. The beautiful voice is puzzled. He had reacted in exactly the same way when I had called 'Rome and Jewels' a hip-hop ballet. "It's hip-hop," he patiently explained for a second time, "nothing more and nothing less." Which answers my question how exactly? But then he is the one with the degree in English Literature.
So don't be fooled, as I was. The essence of hip-hop is not to copy anyone's style, and certainly not to pilfer Shakespeare's plot. Harris has not 'lost the plot', because he never coveted it. In true home-boy style it seems as if Harris believes territory is everything. So why use Shakespeare?
The answer lies with another bard, the original bard - Homer. When Virgil came along with 'The Aeneid' he is praised for what is tantamount to plagiarism of Homers epic poems; this is justified praise since it is the remarkable similarities that illuminate the significant differences. In a similar way Harris pays homage to Shakespeare, while justifiably taking pride in providing a distinct medium for hip-hop's message.
When Harris began to sculpt this production it was West Side Story, not Romeo and Juliet that he had in mind, not knowing of any connection between the two. It took the 'foully witty... and outrageously graceful' Rodney Mason, who play's Rome, incessantly gunning out a self-contrived 'Shakespearean rap' before the penny dropped.
The loss of Jewels, so D. Sabela Grimes informs me, is not an attack on feminism. 'No one in history has suffered in the same way as the black American woman', he passionately states. 'But this play is about the men, where attitude is everything.' It was the rival gangs and the young men dealing with their typically misogynistic attitudes, that caught Harris's attention in West Side Story. 'Rome and Jewels' is Rome's odyssey in which he struggles to find acceptance for a new attitude, brought about when he discovers love.
Perhaps Mackrell should read that book about leaving men alone in their caves - something about Venus and Mars. But then she has seen the play!
Nialla Fayers-Kerr
"OUDS and the Burton-Taylor present a week of short plays and new writing produced, directed and performed by first years."
OUDS guide to Cuppers
If you have a sense of deja-vu this week, don't be worry. I know, one week on the job, and I'm already having to print a correction. I've come over all Grauniad!
Thanks to a confused telephone conversation, last weeks item on Cuppers may have led you to believe that it was in 4th week. Which it wasn't. Oh no. In actual fact, Cuppers is this week (5th Week), from Monday to Friday (Finals on Saturday. Profuse apologies to anyone who turned up at the Burton Taylor last week expecting Cuppers.
Still, on the bright side, this means you still have time to catch the best new talent Oxford has to offer. The timetable printed in last weeks issue is actually for this Thursday and Friday, and Finals Day is this Saturday (10th Nov). It's still just as good value as it was last week, and our preview of 'Best of Cuppers' is still to look forward to. So, not so bad after all...
Matthew Taylor
8th Nov 2001