The Tragedy of Soliman and Perseda at The Rose Theatre, Bankside

I battled valiantly with TFL to make my way to The Rose Theatre, Bankside, in Southwark last night – and yes it was definitely worth the journey. I was there to sample the first offering from Trifle (insert your favourite desert based pun here), who are “a new company set up to create cutting edge theatre and film” (hmmm, so far so good).

This first offering from Trifle is The Tragedy of Soliman and Perseda, “a rich and rare Elizabethan tale” accredited to Thomas Kyd. My plus one, Kaitlyn, was impressed with The Rose’s rich history, and excited to be seeing a show that was last performed in The Rose Theatre during the late 16th century, about 400 years ago.

The Rose Theatre’s well-preserved archaeology was discovered in 1989 during an exploratory excavation during the re-development of an office block. Since its discovery, the site became a major international news story, and the site attracted many thousands of visitors. Today people visit The Rose Theatre to learn about its life between 1587 and 1603. On Tuesday night we were most interested by the red rope lights marked out the original foundations of the theatre allowing us to imagine what it must have been like during Elizabethan Times.

Our imaginations ran wild with scenes of debauchery and chaos and back in the real world we were delighted to find that Tuesday night’s performance filled The Rose with dazzling frenetic energy. Ben Galpin’s Erastus delivered a solid tragic hero, liveried in the throes of love for Cassandra Hodges’ passionate Perseda. She in turn brimmed with desire for Erastus whilst fervent in her rejection of Israel Oyelumade’s shamelessly licentious Solomon. Fortunately this powerful trio of performances were matched by thoroughly enjoyable comic relief throughout from Carsten Hayes as Basilisco and Michael Linsey as Piston. We were especially tickled by Basilisco’s deft theft of a kiss from the dying Perseda, but his costume of flamboyant pastel striped pants and baby pink Abercromie & Fitch button down shirt combined with his front of bravery seemed to a bring forth a chuckle almost every time he stepped on stage.

We felt that this play seems a perfect example of how timeless theatre is, although with its short run it may be the audience who run out of time before having the opportunity to see it. Let’s at least hope that it’s not another 400 years before the opportunity returns.

The Tragedy of Soliman and Perseda will be playing at The Rose Theatre, Bankside, until Saturday, 1 May 2010.

Photo from The Rose Theatre Bankside website

Written By: Trish Langenau

Dancing in the Streets... or in the Stalls Bar

Dancing in the Streets is an energetic production, so we created a photo booth on Monday night, 12 April, for our upbeat audience. Richmond Theatre friends of all ages dressed up in wigs, sported peace-sign necklaces, and posed against a backdrop displaying Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Diana Ross and The Supremes. We must admit, we were guilty of jumping into a few of the photos… but we wanted to take pictures with some of our most loyal audience members. We’d like to say “Thank You” to everyone who participated. We love to have fun at Richmond Theatre, and the photos prove it! You can comment or tag yourselves by going to our Facebook page.

Written By: Trish Langenau

Romeo & Juliet

Reading reviews of Rupert Goold’s Romeo & Juliet, I wasn’t sure what to expect: critics have referenced the modern-day costumes and the simple set with varied opinions. However, the moment Romeo stepped on stage in his hooded sweatshirt and wrinkled jeans I was captivated. We listened to the monologue playing on his audio player which told us about, “two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene.”

Immediately after the audio-played introduction, a violent stage fight ensued complete with fire exploding from the stage floor. Everyone who came out for the brawl was dressed in lavish Elizabethan costume. I especially liked the male costumes, which incorporated royal maroons and greens, and platform boots like I could have found at stores like Darkside in Camden.

The show continued to surprise me, with its humour. Jonjo O’Neill, who plays Mercutio, brought almost ten minutes of uninterrupted laughter during the first half. After exclaiming, “Romeo, that she were, O, that she were an open et caetera, thou a poperin pear!” and then proceeded to act out the meaning of his words! Mercutio was certainly a favourite, every time he came on stage he captured the audience’s attention and we prepared to laugh. Another humorous moment that I especially enjoyed, was in the beginning when the fighting Capulets and Montagues were ordered to drop their weapons. What the audience expected to be an immediate clatter of swords and shields became a farcical extended performance. Every time we thought all weapons were dropped, someone else would drop a weapon causing laughter with every extra club and dagger. This proceeded for quite some time, and had us laughing from the beginning, setting the mood for the rest of the production.

This said, the comic relief did not detract from the intensity of the love story. I appreciated how the careful portrayals of Romeo (Sam Troughton), and Juliet (Mariah Gale), showed not just two lovers, but too young lovers. There is humour in young love, and Goold was successful in poking fun at how awkward and irrational it is, without denying the strong emotions that are also a reality.

The Courtyard Theatre proved perfect for this production. It opened in July 2006 and will continue to be the main venue in Stratford during the transformation of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The Courtyard Theatre’s stage configuration, which is a prototype for the redeveloped Royal Shakespeare Theatre, had seating on three sides of the stage. On my second day in Stratford, I had lunch at Oscar’s Deli Café, the food was delicious and local. As the weather warms up, if you are looking for a day trip, I would definitely recommend Stratford. Beyond it being a theatre-loving town, it has quaint Tudor architecture, shops, good food, and feels more relaxed than London.

One of our friends from Orange Tree Theatre, Meg Dobson, will be visiting Stratford on Sunday 25 April, to run in the annual Shakespeare Marathon. Wish her luck!

Photo from Royal Shakespeare Company website

Written By: Trish Langenau