★★★☆☆
Three Stars
Having never encountered Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure before, it was testament to the acting of the Union Theatre’s production that I understood most of the plot. Phil Willmott’s direction turns a play about power, purity and marriage into a lively performance complete with ad-libbing chorus of prostitutes and cabaret songs, although this vividness is often not enough to redeem some of the production’s shortcomings.
Philip Lindley’s design turns the black box interior of the Union Theatre, first into a sultry whorehouse sectioned off by mesh walls and later into a courtroom, prison and nightclub. The vaguely modern atmosphere seems to lift it out of Elizabethan stuffiness, such as the Madmen suits and whisky, but adds little else to the production and often nears the gimmicky.
The show starts with a lascivious Pompeia (Natalie Harman) welcoming the audience into the promenade-style first scene; in case anyone is confused as to the setting, ‘Whore’ is lit up in large red letters. Colloquial one-liners and cockney jibes bring a charming liveliness to the stage, indeed, the boisterous and saucy chorus of prostitutes were almost the life and soul of the performance, providing comic vocal backdrop to various scenes like a band of beautiful, scantily-clad pirates.
However, the real heart of the play is Paul Critoph’s Angelo. Critoph gives a Javert-like tortured conscience to the figure whose morals are tested and teased. His tense scene with Daisy Ward’s Isabella is a standout moment, her quietly fierce propriety coming up against his pitiful lechery in a grippingly uncomfortable encounter.
Unfortunately, their respective struggles with principles take a back seat in the second half, where Nicholas Osmond’s Duke/Friar leads the action in a sluggish resolution of the conflict which had proved much more captivating in the previous half. Osmond’s performance begins promisingly with a Don Draper swagger that suits the Duke, but fails to take advantage of the part his character would go on to play in an inexplicably complicated and roundabout resolution.
Either something of the fiercely virtuous or of the Machiavellian lacks in his performance, but he seemed to coast throughout, satisfying but never quite captivating the audience. It is his performance that could make the resolution more fascinating than the inevitable slog towards a happily ever after ending, led by a dodgy Scottish accent.
Slurred lines occasionally make for tedious and downright confusing viewing, while miscasting or lack of props does little to suggest visual resemblance between certain characters, which turns out to be key to the plot. Tighter and more explorative direction could raise other performances to the level of Critoph and Ward’s encounters; however, it remains an appealing production with some vivid acting in a space which is imaginatively filled.
Measure for Measure will be at the Union Theatre, London until the 27th July. Tickets are available here.
