The Revenger's Tragedy at Old Red Lion Theatre

The Revenger's Tragedy at Old Red Lion Theatre

09 August, 2012
by: Anastasia_Miari

Anastasia Miari reviews a disappointingly shoddy update of Thomas Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy. 

Director Nicholas Thompson has transported The Revenger’s Tragedy, a seventeenth century play to the 1980s in this production at The Old Red Lion theatre. A tale of deceit, greed and revenge, the play follows a grieving Vindice after the murder of his fiancée by the Duke. In his quest for revenge, Vindice finds a way into the Duke’s court and implants himself within it to wreak havoc. 

For a play that is full of interesting and complex characters, this production leaves a lot to be desired in its execution.  Multi-role playing is understandable for such a large cast of characters but it is done in a way that is confusing. The actors are simply not strong enough to carry off a believable performance of one role, let alone three within the same act. 

Nicholas Kime does a shoddy job of playing Junior, Spurio and worst of all, Vindice’s virgin sister, Castiza. Were it not for his costume changes, there would be little difference in his portrayal of the three very different characters. In a play that is already dense in terms of language and plot, confusions like this are unforgivable. The acting all round seems amateur. Lines are stumbled over and the only characters that are believable are those presented by fresh-faced Henry Regan. Unlike his cast members, Regan does not over-play his part but attempts an honest representation of both Hippolito and Ambitioso.  

Often, it’s the finer details that make all the difference, especially in low budget productions. Why is Vindice’s disguise an overtly camp, blonde-wigged buffoon with a dodgy walk and over-sized gold, plastic sunglasses? Mark Field gets a few titters when he first masks up as Piato but the novelty soon wears off. In terms of costume in general, there has been no attention to detail. Piato’s jeans are stained by red wine, they’re creased and distinctly out of period. Surely if you are recreating the '80 on a budget, you can head to any vintage store for a pair of faded Levis? Props are treated with a similar laissez-faire attitude. Piato attempts to seduce Castiza with a pair of shoes in a cheap, shabby looking Shoe Zone box in a battered bag – not exactly the best way to woo a lady. 

Thompson’s directorial choices are disappointing. The play has been transported to the '80s but he hasn't shown us why. No strong links are made between that particular era and the plot of The Revenger’s Tragedy and the production appears almost comedic in its shabby attempt to create this world. 

The Revenger's Tragedy is in rep with Henry V until 29th September


Image: Henry Regan & Christine Oram by R W Davenport 



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Anastasia_Miari