⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pericles is co-artistic director, Tamara Harvey's, debut production in her new role. Off Book interviewed her 3 years ago in her former role as co-artistic director of Theatr Clwyd to celebrate her online production of The Picture of Dorian Grey amid the pandemic and also featuring star of Pericles, Alfred Enoch.
Pericles is being staged at the smaller Swan theatre, where the wooden interior lends itself well to the maritime theme of the play. Ropes are suspended and draped from the ceiling, cresting the outline of a mast and a trapdoor works well to represent both the bowel of the ship and the Earth.
Captaining the play is Alfred Enoch of Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder fame, who delivers an excellence performance, able to show versatility in his portrayal of the Greek hero's life, from the athletic prowess of youth to the weariness of a mourning, ageing father.
The first 15 minutes of the play feel a little slow despite the constant twists of the story but the pace soon quickens once Pericles travels to Tarsus and into a storm, where physically manipulated ropes create fluid, wrestling-style movement to create the rocking ship's deck. Pericles is thrown overboard and saved from death by fishermen.
To recover from his misfortune, Pericles enters a tournament where. Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster's stylised fighting is captivating and choreographed like a dance, leaving you desperately wanting more. Mediterranean-infused Marimba music accompanies the action and throughout the play, oscillating from romantic to melancholy to unsettling.
As an odyssey across the Greek islands, the play is difficult to stage but costume designer, Kinnetia Isidore, uses different coloured linen, silks and macrame to differentiate between the characters to denote their kingdoms and their social standing.
In a play that geographically spans the Aegean Sea and the many years of a lifetime, Harvey manages to create a cohesion and keep us hooked. Her decision to give the role of narrator to Pericles' daughter, Marina, is one praised by critics and gives the beginning of the story an emotional weight and a sense of fate by the end. Rachelle Deidericks is cast perfectly in the role, able to have both presence and poise, speaking as eloquently to the audience as she is praised for within the text. An honourable mention also goes to Christian Patterson playing Simonides who provides excellent comic relief.
Little-staged and little-appreciated, the RSC brings gravity and fresh interest to Shakespeare's Big Fat Greek Play.
Pericles has transferred to the USA and is currently running from 20th October to 7th December 2024 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago, US.
Comments