As expected, this had come on a lot since our first viewing. The dialogue was crisper, we had the advantage of having seen it once before, and these factors, coupled with a much more responsive audience, made for a very entertaining evening. It's a shame so few people will get to see this, but at least we are among the happy few.
Another fantastic production from STF, with the emphasis clearly on the text and the characters. The two young actors playing Othello and Desdemona did good work, but for me it was the brilliance of Mark Lockyer's Iago supported by Katy Stephen's perfectly pitched Emilia that made this performance so powerful. There were one or two aspects which didn't work quite so well, but this is a production I would recommend highly to anyone: it's a shame the public haven't responded by making it a sell out for the whole of its run.
Brilliant from beginning to end. Probably the best production of this play we're likely to see. And we've only booked for one viewing – drat! And this was an early performance, so it's bound to get even better despite such a short run – double drat!
One of the joys of arriving early to queue for our seats in the Tobacco Factory is the opportunity to see some of the cast chilling out before the show. Tonight we were lucky enough to see a major star relaxing on one of the sofas – Lollio, aka Crab. His long black form lay elegantly on the seat opposite; he was completely unfazed to be among his adoring public. Eventually, after a languorous stretch, he strolled into the auditorium to prepare for an arduous evening's performance – more on that story later.
This was an enjoyable production, if not up to the level of SATTF's Shakespeare offerings. The stage was decorated with more furniture than usual – rugs, a small bookcase, tables, chairs, sofas, etc. – and the setting was emphasised with strong lighting changes between acts. The story was told at a fairly brisk pace, and there was a good amount of humour throughout the performance as well as an understanding of the various characters' situations. I'm finding Chekov's work less interesting at the moment though; don't know if it's just a dry spell or whether I've got as much as I can from the plays. Either way I reckon this was a very good production, though not the best I've seen.
There was still the sense of characters talking at each other without making a connection at times, and I was aware of the oddness of Charlotta's speech at the start of the second act. Chekov seems to be presenting us with a melange of characters from rural Russia, and they each get their turn to be centre stage regardless of any plot that might be going on. It's an OK way to do things, but sometimes I feel it disrupts the rhythm of the piece.
Dorothea Myer-Bennett played Varya, the adopted daughter, and brought out her concerns about money very strongly along with her fear of being called a miser. I wasn't so clear about her love for Lopakhin this time, but it was still a shame that he couldn't bring himself to propose to her. Simon Armstrong's Lopakhin was an energetic, bustling man who would always need to be doing something; I'm not sure this Varya would have suited him so well as a wife. Julia Hills was a fine Ranevskaya, with no sense whatsoever but a great deal of charm, and Christopher Bianchi's Gaev was a decent, kind man who just talked far too much.
The rest of the cast did good work as well. I liked the truculence of Firs, played by Paul Nicholson, and Piers Wehner gave us a Yasha you just wanted to slap (a good thing in a Yasha). I enjoyed this much better than their Uncle Vanya in 2009 – perhaps the different venue didn't work so well for me – so I wouldn't rule out seeing any SATTF non-Shakespeare productions in the future.