By Dave
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR1Ghcyt6DU&t=2044s
Available until: forever
I’ll be honest – of all the Shakespeare plays, I was
probably looking forward to this one least. I just don’t find it a very
interesting play. It’s also a very complicated play so it does require a
certain level of hard work in order to follow what’s going on. I’ve seen Tom
Hiddleston in the title role and if he can’t hold my attention, who could?
But this is TSMGO and they have got ways of getting around all my prejudices. They very cleverly put Alix Dunmore in the title role. We’ve seen her in five plays during lockdown, including this one – four of them Shakespeare – and she’s one of our favourites of all the new actors we’ve discovered.
Anyone can perform a Shakespeare play online. But where some
plays are concerned, it takes a lot of skill, intelligence and talent to make
me want to keep watching. And while TSMGO don’t brush over the more controversial
aspects of the plays, they do help us to look at things in different ways and
to move away from the real sticking points that earn the problem plays that
accolade.
Alix Dunmore is an exceptional Coriolanus. She not only
speaks and communicates the text beautifully and performs the negative aspects
of Coriolanus’ character well, she also manages to sneak in some
vulnerabilities. As she said after the performance, Coriolanus is someone who
doesn’t even want to examine his emotions, much less share them. We don’t see
into his head as we do Othello, Hamlet and Macbeth. If those three characters
were as much a closed book as Coriolanus, there’s a fair chance we’d hate them.
Coriolanus doesn’t have that safety net. But Alix, without ever losing sight of
who Coriolanus is and what he needs to be, does give us a sense that the
emotions are there, whether he wants them or not. He’s not made out of stone.
And that makes him fascinating.
And that final scene… I hope I get to see Alix live one day.
This is Coriolanus’ play rather than Aufidius’ but you can
only admire the way Sian Eleanor Green has not only made this character almost
likeable at times – at the very least, I was very interested in what he was
doing and what he would do next - she’s managed to make him into a worthy
adversary for Coriolanus. Sian is compelling and intriguing and watching
Aufidius and Coriolanus onscreen together is quite something.
There’s also a powerful performance from Jonathan Oliver as
Menenius Agrippa – he uses the text really well and he’s another character I
was always happy to see onscreen. Drew Paterson (Sicinius Velutus) and Wayne
Lee (Cominius) also give really strong performances and Joyce Branagh is great
as Volumnia. She’s not the most likeable character but Joyce makes you want to
keep watching her. She definitely lives up to her surname. Hector
Bateman-Harden, who plays Young Martius, is an incredible young actor. I don’t
mean that in a patronising way – I mean that brilliant as he is now, he’ll get
much, much better! That thought is almost as scary as some of his facial expressions.
There’s also a very strong ensemble. They had to take on a
lot of very small roles, characters with no real story as such – they were
there more to express opinions. But the ensemble makes these moments so
exciting and memorable. There was a great scene between Steve Charrett and
Gareth Balai (who is actually a swing, I’m not sure if he was swinging on or if
this was a scheduled appearance) where not very much happened but their
characterisation really made me take notice. Matthew Rhodes always has a strong
stage presence and as for Chi-Chi Onuah, don’t ever get on the wrong side of
her. She looks seriously dangerous with a knife and has a great line in Shakespearean
sarcasm. Luckily, there’s no need for me to get on her bad side – she was
outstanding in her ensemble roles. Full of character and great to watch. If
occasionally terrifying.
I always keep an eye on the live chat because the
groundlings often spot things I wouldn’t have seen on my own and provide
information that enhances my understanding and enjoyment. One thing that was
discussed in this live chat is that TSMGO could produce all the plays not
included in the First Folio – Pericles (excluded from the First Folio), The
Two Noble Kinsmen (now probably accepted by the majority as part of the
cannon), Edward III (which is certainly given a spirited defence in my
copy of the play) and Sir Thomas More (which I actually didn’t realise
is available to read so I’m looking forward to reading that at some point).
Maybe they could also produce the other plays Shakespeare is thought to have
contributed to, including Arden of Faversham, Edmund Ironside and
The Spanish Tragedy. (The truth is I just don’t want TSMGO to end.
Nobody does!)
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