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Stavaeus survived the marathon last month in Stratford-upon-Avon. London audiences can now see the plays in rep at the Roundhouse until 25 May. For those with enough stamina, there are two more opportunities to see all eight back-to-back (11-18 and 22-25 May).
What an exhausting but at the same time thrilling experience it has been. The quality of the productions has been consistently high, with some better than others, but not a bad one among them. It seems that the RSC has emerged reenergized from the Complete Works festival, and that the ensemble idea is not only a winning concept, but one that is back to stay. Before the start of the last play on Sunday, Michael Boyd held a talk where he revealed that a new ensemble, on a similarly long term commitment, will be coming in in January and that there are already plans for the ensemble to come after that one, which will be onboard for the festival that they’ve got planned for 2012.
It’s been draining, but at the same time it feels a bit sad that it’s come to an end, and personally I wouldn’t mind seeing it all over again, but that’s not to be. There are so many things that I’ll take with me from the complete cycle, from the big themes to the little gems that sparkled unexpectedly and etched themselves into my memory for a long time to come. (spoilers coming up)
The last day of the cycle, and time for R3. The RSC doesn’t normally do Sunday performances, but this day marks one of the few exceptions to that rule. Everyone will still get a bit of a breather, as the performance doesn’t start until 3 pm, and for the first time during the cycle I’ve had the time to look at what’s sitting in my inbox. I even had time to briefly look in on my online Shakespeare discussion group, where the discussion of Hamlet has just started, and thank goodness this part of it is secure in Arlene’s very capable hands, and that the reins won’t be passed to me until May, as I think my brain would probably have melted if I had had to do that concurrently with this Histories extravaganza.
I’m pleased to say that the cycle goes out on a strong note, even if it’s not as good as the opening R2, but then few productions are of that calibre. The obligatory reminder before the play, about mobiles and the like, is delivered by Roger Watkins, and he’s immediately greeted by a huge cheer as he comes onto the stage. He then proceeds to first count the seven down and one to go on his fingers, before miming the entire caution about using mobiles, cameras or recording equipment, all of which is received with applause and laughter. So far we’ve largely been spared mobile phones going off, with one notable exception last night when someone’s phone went off right towards the end of Richard’s big soliloquy. (spoilers coming up)
Saturday evening and the last play of the day, the third and final part of the H6 trilogy. Strange to think that this is the last time that any of these productions will be seen here in Stratford, where they were initially performed back in 2000, or was it 2001? All theatre performances are basically no more than fleeting moments, seen and enjoyed as they happen, and then only living on in the memories of those that saw them, but this has been one long moment for this trilogy. From here they, and indeed the whole Histories cycle, will move on to their final destination, a brief season at the Roundhouse down in London, and then they’ll be gone, this time most probably for good. But back to this production of 3H6. (spoilers coming up)
The second play this Saturday, 2H6, is on paper one of the weakest of the Histories, so I was very curious to see how this would turn out, after being pleasantly surprised by the production of 1H6. It turns out to be rather uneven, probably no surprise given the unevenness of the play itself, but some tricks are now growing old in this the sixth of the Histories. It’s initially slow, but things pick up considerably during the last hour. (spoilers coming up)
Saturday morning and we’re all starting to look a bit bleary-eyed, even if the buzz is still very much there. The “good morning” from the actor who came on before the play to caution us about mobiles was greeted by a cheerfully unison response, as we’re all raring to go. We’re doing all three H6s today, which should mean that we finish on a strong note with 3H6, which I think is the best of the three. So a whole day of warring roses, and in honour of today’s theme I’m wearing little silver rose earrings. (spoilers coming up)
Time for the last play of the day, H5, which started slightly late. When Forbes Masson stepped onto the stage everyone expected him to give us the customary caution of switching off mobiles and the like, but I guess they had decided that since this would be the fourth play in the last 24 hours for us all we probably knew the rules, and so had decided to just get on with the play. So instead of the caution, we got “Oh, for a muse of fire”, which caused a big laugh as it was so unexpected. By this point in the cycle, everyone’s almost giddy with excitement and the rush of just being here, being part of this moment.
The atmosphere is strange, there’s an air of tangible excitement, as we experience what few have been through so far, and people are getting increasingly friendly and chatty; we’re no longer absolute strangers, we’re fellow voyagers on this journey of discovery. It seems like most people are here for the whole cycle, and many have seen these productions before, though never quite like this. (spoilers coming up)
By 3 pm everyone had rushed back for the start of the third play of the cycle, the second of the day, and we continued with 2H4. I must say that David Warner’s Falstaff is growing on me, I really liked his performance in this one, which is fortunate considering that this is pretty much Falstaff’s play. It’s more of an ensemble piece than 1H4, and it turned into a real opportunity for the supporting players to shine, and did they ever! One brilliant performance after another, as the play allowed them the chance to step into focus for the audience.
The beginning of day two of the Histories cycle, and everyone was still looking bright-eyed as we turned up for 1H4, kicking off this long day at 10.30 am. This production left a mixed impression, and I’m genuinely wondering why it didn’t quite gel when it had so many of the right elements, but perhaps it was unavoidable that things should return to earth after the soaring heights of R2 last night. It started promising enough, with Clive Wood on strong form as H4, and with Lex Shrapnel’s Hotspur every bit as good as I had hoped after seeing how he played him in R2. You have no problem understanding H4’s wish that this should have been his son, instead of the deadbeat carouser of an heir that he’s stuck with.
But after this excellent beginning things soon started to go downhill, and the end result is an uneven mix of some very good performances, a number of odd interpretational choices and a production that seems curiously lacking in gravity. It isn’t bad, far from it, it’s actually rather good, it’s just not very interesting, which is strange considering the material that they’re working with. (spoilers coming up)
Thursday evening, and a flying start to the Histories cycle. There was a palpable buzz at the Courtyard Theatre even before the play started, with people milling about, live music in the circle bar, and all sorts of accents being heard as people gathered for the first performance of the cycle. Ah, a whole theatre full of likeminded people, I felt right at home.
It was nice to start off this massive Histories marathon gently with just the one play this evening, R2, a production that I’d already seen and enjoyed tremendously, so I pretty much knew what to expect. It’s always interesting to return for a second viewing of really good productions, as that gives you a chance to take a closer look at the things that might have slipped under your radar the first time, and this was no exception. (beware spoilers coming up)
