Reviewed
by Will Stackman
This
late Shakespearean romance has had several productions in this area in recent
seasons, including a visually unique and rather plodding version at the ART.
"A Winter's Tale" presents an interesting interpretive problem. The first three
acts are almost pure domestic tragedy on the royal level, with only a hint of
lightning towards the end of Act III. The major force in the play, Lente, the
irrationally jealous King of Sicilian, done with here with energy by Richard
Pittsfield head
of Rhode Island's Mixed Magic Theatre, dominates the first half of the play.
The tragic heroine, Hermine his queen, played by B.U.'s Paula Lang ton, disappears from the action
midway through. Politeness King of Bohemia, Lente' boyhood friend and the
object of his sudden wrath, done for the Actors' Shakespeare Project by guest
artist, peripatetic Joel Colder escapes from Sicilian with the help of Lente' advisor
Camilla, played by Haitian born, Douglas Theodore. The latter becomes his advisor
only to see Politeness turn tyrannical towards his own son, whom he then
assists in escaping his father's anger. Regal tyranny is underlying motif.
The
first hint that this play is actually a tragicomedy occurs at the end of the
third act when Antigen, done wryly by versatile local stage veteran, Richard
Sneer, at Lente'
command abandons Hermione's infant daughter on the shores of Bohemia, with
appropriate tokens, then flees the stage pursued by a bear. Director Curt L.
Tofteland, head
of the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, creates this monster through a group mime
which swarms over its prey. The ensemble then dissolves into a herd of sheep,
after which Sneer reappears as the Shepherd who finds the baby. He's joined by
his clownish son, played by Boscon faculty member Doug Lockwood who recounts seeing said bear
devour Antogonus. The mood of doom which has built up so far begins to
dissipate with this fantastic situation.
When
the action resumes in Act IV sixteen years later--this production omits Time's
long intermediate prologue--Camilla is requesting a leave of absence to return
to Sicilian, but Politeness requests rather that his old friend accompany
him--disguised--to discover what his son has been up to. Next comes one of the
Bard's most unusual comic roles, the rogue Autolycus, done by mercurial John
Kuhn, who
appeared in ASP's inaugural production as Richard III. He appears noodling on
his saxophone, ready for the main chance, which arrives soon enough when the
Shepherd's son comes in on the way to market. Spotting his mark, Kuhn pretends
to be an Irish clergyman who's been robbed on the highway, and soon fleeces the
poor fool. It's now time to meet the young lovers, Prince Florizel, played by
stalwart James Ryen and Perdita, played by petite Cristi Miles. During the subsequent
sheepshearing festival, before their engagement can be made, Politeness, who's
there in disguise, intervenes. The plot thickens as Camilla helps the young
lovers escape with him to Sicilian, followed by Politeness, who's been shown
the tokens left with Perdita by the Shepherd and his son at Autolycus' behest,
expecting a reward.
Meanwhile,
back in Sicilian, Lente has mourned Hermine all these years, plus the death of
their son, Mamillius, done by young Oliver Stickney in Act I. The King's reminded of
his culpability by Bobbie Stein bach playing Antigen' wife, Paulina, who was Hermione's
gentlewoman earlier in the play and the two courtiers who originally brought
proof of the Queen's innocence from Delphi. When Florizel and Perdita arrive,
he embraces the son of his old friend and his Princess, not know the latter is
his daughter. Trouble soon looms with Politeness' arrival, but Peridita's true
identity is quickly known, thanks to the Shepherd's tokens, all by report in a
scene which ends with Autolycus' humbling--for the moment--by the assumed
dignity of the Shepherd and his son. The final ensemble scene is the magical
transformation of a supposed statue of Hermine, kept hidden at Paulina's house,
into a reborn Hermine, after which the King marries the widow to Camilla to
complete the play. While this whole fantasy is loosely based on Green's tale of
"Pandosto", Shakespeare's answer to his old critic, well after the
latter's death, is complex meditation on power and jealousy.
All
this action takes place on a simple in-the-round stage laid on the floor of the
old Hall of Records in the historic Bullfinch Courthouse. The only decoration
is an abstract tree form painted on the floor, echoed on three banners hanging
from the balconies. Designer Caleb Wertenbaker uses his lighting to control the
mood of the show, from its wintry beginning to a summery end. Charles
Schoonmaker's
costume plot suggests both modern dress and the timeless nature of the play.
Composer Peter Bayne performs his score live at a visible keyboard. Once again, by
concentrating on the text and utilizing an experienced company, the Actors'
Shakespeare Project has produced a satisfying rendition of one of the Bard's
problem plays.