Boris Godunov
Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
I returned to Stratford-upon-Avon to see three of the productions currently being shown as part of the winter season. Following on from their earlier 2012 theme, What Country Friends Is This, the RSC had put together another theme, A World Elsewhere, comprising of three translated versions of plays that come from different parts of the world. Two are based on people who lived during Shakespeare's time, such as the title of this play, Boris Gudonov. This is also the last production to be directed by Michael Boyd before he steps down as the company's artistic director.
A noble called Boris Godunov (Lloyd Hutchinson) is a noble who reluctantly takes over the throne of Russia after Tsar Fyodor and the young rightful heir, Prince Dmitry, died. But rumors spread that Boris actually murdered Dmitry in order to take the throne for himself. As a result a young monk, Grigory Otrepiev (Gethin Anthony), decides to pose as Dmitry. He secretly escapes to Poland, in order to gain support and lead an army to take Russia. Boris meanwhile is plagued by the murder of Dmitry and fears his possible overthrow.
The plot was the most engaging in the first act, because it followed the adventures of a young Grigory Otrepiev who has to escape the country undetected. During the second act however the play gets bogged down in politics, as Grigory finds support in Poland. A dozen more characters are introduced, causing the plot to loose its momentum. Furthermore, the playwright overemphasises the play's connections to Shakespeare's Macbeth and Richard III by making several direct references to the plays, which became tiresome after a while. Whether or not they were inevitable it felt like the play was making winks at me.
The cast tells the story of Boris Godunov with a light hearted tone. At the beginning they all cross the stage as if in the middle of a party - dancers, lovers, priests and artists all - whilst Boris Godunov stands in the middle of all this with blood on his hands (Macbeth reference). Lloyd Hutchinson plays Boris Godunov as though the character has justified his actions and yet cowers at his conscience, to the point where he hugs an audience member for comfort.
James Tucker played Prince Shuisky as a sly, cunning follower of Boris Godunov. Joe Dixon stands out as a boisterous and outspoken Afanasii Pushkin and during the second act he describes the return of the supposedly alive Prince Dmitry with aplomb. Gethin Anthony played Grigory Otrepiev and goes on a journey from apprehensive monk to charismatic leader. The ensemble also had their moments playing the impoverished people of Russia.
The set is a basic one with the back comprising of a wooden structure with a second level for the actors to stand upon. One lovely moment though was a scene where Gudonov's son, Fyodor, was painting a map of Russia on a large cloth. Coats were hung at the back like a changing area The climatic battle also involved an interesting dance where the actors displayed different regimental uniforms by turning their coats inside out Michael Boyd is still using the same artistic choices he made in the The Histories Cycle, including the use of percussion instruments to provide the music, which at times was rather loud.
The first half is worth a Full Price, and the production has a great cast to boot. The second act, however, slows the show down considerably to make this production worth a Bargin.
The cast tells the story of Boris Godunov with a light hearted tone. At the beginning they all cross the stage as if in the middle of a party - dancers, lovers, priests and artists all - whilst Boris Godunov stands in the middle of all this with blood on his hands (Macbeth reference). Lloyd Hutchinson plays Boris Godunov as though the character has justified his actions and yet cowers at his conscience, to the point where he hugs an audience member for comfort.
James Tucker played Prince Shuisky as a sly, cunning follower of Boris Godunov. Joe Dixon stands out as a boisterous and outspoken Afanasii Pushkin and during the second act he describes the return of the supposedly alive Prince Dmitry with aplomb. Gethin Anthony played Grigory Otrepiev and goes on a journey from apprehensive monk to charismatic leader. The ensemble also had their moments playing the impoverished people of Russia.
The set is a basic one with the back comprising of a wooden structure with a second level for the actors to stand upon. One lovely moment though was a scene where Gudonov's son, Fyodor, was painting a map of Russia on a large cloth. Coats were hung at the back like a changing area The climatic battle also involved an interesting dance where the actors displayed different regimental uniforms by turning their coats inside out Michael Boyd is still using the same artistic choices he made in the The Histories Cycle, including the use of percussion instruments to provide the music, which at times was rather loud.
The first half is worth a Full Price, and the production has a great cast to boot. The second act, however, slows the show down considerably to make this production worth a Bargin.
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