Review: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner at Old Vic Tunnels

Review: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner at Old Vic Tunnels

10 January, 2013
by: Spoonfed Theatre Team

Elodie Vidal reviews a near perfect retelling of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner starring Fiona Shaw and Daniel Hay-Gordon at the Old Vic Tunnels.

Producers of literary adaptations often find themselves blamed for a piece’s shortcomings, old and new, but if you don’t like this version of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, you can only blame its 18th century author, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  Director Phyllida Llyod and her team do more than honour their end of the bargain; they offer the best of theatre in an hour’s running time. 

Llyod’s production preserves the storytelling format of the original poem, giving performers Fiona Shaw and Daniel Hay-Gordon the task of acting out the text’s more fantastical content through speech, movement and dance. Shaw takes the show on her shoulders, her commanding and energetic presence a match for any elaborate sound or visual effect. Dancer Hay-Gordon stands as her counterpart and storytelling instrument, his silent physical work both completing and supporting hers. It's rare to see two performers in such a state of symbiosis. And the blending of creative elements is not limited to the performances.

The design and sound merge so seamlessly with the Old Vic Tunnels that they seem to be one with the space. For a set, designer Chloe Obolensky has placed an old sail under the arch of the tunnel, thus echoing the décor’s innate rusticity and inviting the audience into the mariner’s rough lifestyle. Similarly, Mel Mercier uses an original score to enhance the Tunnels’ natural sounds. The music is kept discreet and scarce, allowing the regular rumblings of the train overhead to give the poem’s spirits an aural manifestation. 

Then, Jean Kalman and Mike Gunning’s lighting comes in to bring Coleman’s spectres and sea creatures to life. In particular, their use of a follow spot, projected onto the sail, enables a spectacular shadow puppet show that highlights key moments of the story. Most memorable is the appearance of the albatross, conveyed through the projection of Hay-Gordon’s undulating upper body against the sail. The oversized black shadow announces the bird’s importance at once, and warns of dark times to come.

But best of all, is the way this production allows an audience to connect with such a classic text. Amidst the pre-show hustle and bustle, Shaw walks up and down the central aisle, in apparent search for the best interlocutor to her tale, and eventually selects Hay-Gordon from the crowd  This early breaking of the fourth wall establishes the universal resonance of the Ancient Mariner’s story. When Hay-Gordon, as the Wedding Guest walks away “a sadder and a wiser man”, you feel like his journey has also been yours.


The Rime of the Ancient Mariner runs at Old Vic Tunnels until 13th January

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Spoonfed Theatre Team