Cork Opera House
Oct 11-22
I managed to
catch Corcadorca’s production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale but I don’t
have time to do an in-depth review. I have to say though that this is not only the
first production of a Shakespearean text by an Irish company that I enjoyed and
would recommend (not including postdramatic phenom The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane) but it was also one of the most mesmerising and engaging pieces of theatre I’ve seen all year.
Director Pat
Kiernan’s tribal-infused interpretation, keening with Mel Mercier’s score and steeled
by Paul Keogan’s frosty lights, is both a chilling and hopeful experience. When
Garrett Lombard’s jealous king Leontes clashes with Derbhle Crotty’s courtly
Paulina we have a stage equivalent of when an unstoppable force meets an
unmovable object. Both actors give supreme performances. The second half of the
play is less memorable (Shakespeare did give this one a strange structure,
starting off with road-signs towards a tragedy and then taking a comedy
detour) but is held together by an
amiable cast including Ronan Leahy, Mal Whyte, and the always charming Raymond
Keane. I have more thoughts on The
Winter’s Tale but I think I’m going to save them for my end of year
write-ups in December.
What did
everybody else think?
No comments:
Post a Comment