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July 14, 2006
Not Shakespeare's best play
Bard on the Beach actors do the best they can with a bad plot.
STEPHANIE RAMSAY
You would think that a play full of murder plots, forbidden love
and mistaken identities, not to mention a surprise ending, would
make for good theatre. However, William Shakespeare's The Winter
Tale is anything but. Only excellent acting by Bard on the Beach
performers saves this production from being a complete bore.
The story opens at the home of Leontes (Gerry Mackay), king of Sicilia,
who is enjoying a visit with his best friend, Polixenes (Martin
Sims), king of Bohemia. The fun is cut short when Leontes observes
Polixenes sharing a joke with his wife Hermione (Jennifer Lines)
and assumes that they are having an affair.
Driven mad with unfounded jealousy, Leontes orders his advisor,
Camillo (David Marr), to murder Polixenes, but Camillo is unable
to go through with it and he and Polixenes escape to Bohemia. Leontes
continues his rampage by sending Hermione to prison, despite her
self-proclaimed innocence and the fact that she is nearly nine months
pregnant.
After Hermione gives birth in prison, the loyal Paulina, played
by Jewish community member Kerry Sandomirsky, hopes that the sight
of his new daughter will sway Leontes' heart. Unfortunately, her
plan goes awry and Leontes assumes the baby belongs to Polixenes
and orders it killed. Unable to carry out the king's murderous will,
Paulina's husband, Antigonus, played with subtle dignity by Allan
Gray, decides instead to leave the baby in a remote area of Bohemia.
The abandoned child is soon discovered by a shepherd and his young
son, who take her in and raise her as their own.
The drama continues in Sicilia, as Hermione's trial gets underway.
While Hermione pleads her case, a messenger rushes in to inform
them that their son has died out of concern for his mother. Upon
hearing this, Hermione collapses, indicating that she too has died
from a case of "extreme emotions." Only then does Leontes
realize his mistake, and he vows to spend the rest of his life mourning
his wife and lost children.
In the second act, the play fast forwards 16 years and shifts to
Bohemia, where the king's long-lost daughter, Perdita (Anna Cummer),
has grown into a beautiful woman. Matters become complicated when
it is revealed that she is in love with Polixenes' son, Florizel
(Torrance Coombs). However, Polixenes deems this match unsuitable
and forbids them from marrying.
Always one to meddle in others' affairs, Camillo persuades the amorous
pair to flee to Sicilia, where the two kings eventually reconcile
and the lost are once again found.
The strength of this production is the performances. The actors
in The Winter's Tale truly deserve credit for bringing life
to such a convoluted story. While all of the actors performed well,
Mackay stood out in his portrayal of the hot-headed Leontes, as
did Andrew Wheeler and Jewish actor Chad Hershler, who provided
some much-needed comic relief, as, respectively, a drunken rogue
(Wheeler) and the naive young shepherd (Hershler) he swindles.
Despite the play's many charismatic performances, The Winter's
Tale drags. The problem lies with the story itself: the play
features weak plot devices (beginning with Leontes' inexplicable
jealousy), improbable twists and turns (characters literally die
from fear and worry) and unnecessary dialogue (a tangential discourse
on flowers, for example). At two and a half hours, the play –
as uninspired as it is – feels too long.
The program describes The Winter's Tale as a "passionate
story of destructive jealousy," however, it's more like a rambling
tale of unrelenting rage. It's no wonder that it is one of the Bard's
lesser- known plays.
The Winter's Tale plays on the Bard's Studio Stage until
Sept. 22. Tickets are $17-$29.50. Call 604-739-0559 or visit www.bardonthebeach.org
for more information on this and all the other shows being presented
this season.
Stephanie Ramsay is a summer intern at the Independent.
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