CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com


HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH

REVIEWS

REVIEW ARCHIVES

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Connecticut
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp London London Review
The Bridge Project 2010 - As You Like It and The Tempest


True is it that we have seen better days. — Duke Senior
The Bridge Project 2010 - As You Like It and The Tempest
Stephen Dillane as Jacques
(Photo: Joan Marcus)
This year the Old Vic Theatre in London is the final port of call for Sam Mendes Bridge Project with two Shakespeare plays linked by the deposed dukes in the Forest of Arden and on Prospero's island. Like my American counterparts reviewing for Curtain Up in New York, I greatly preferred As You Like It, not so much for its brutal scenes in the court but for the scenes in the forest. I preferred Juliet Rylance's boyish Ganymede to her sadder Rosalind but the highlight for me was Thomas Sadoski's witty Touchstone. The warm humour of this actor brought us a true comedy with his courtship of the delightful Jenni Barber as Audrey and complemented by the relationship between country bumpkin Silvius (Aaron Krohn) and the aspirational Phoebe (Ashlie Atkinson). Michelle Beck as Celia made the most of her supporting role to Rosalind conveying true friendship although the transformation of Oliver (Edward Bennett) into Celia's lover never really convinces especially after the cruelty of his earlier scenes.

A question mark for me was the way initially Christian Camargo as Orlando was speaking the verse, ignoring punctuation in order to convey the metre which I thought was going to be disastrous with its sing-song delivery. However he too improved under the cover of the greenwood tree although I never really believed in the romance with Rosalind, despite the number of love odes pinned to the trees professing otherwise.

Stephen Dillane's Bob Dylan rendering of Jacques' song hits the spot with humour, the perfect fit between Dylan's songs of longing and freedom and Jacques' perspective of life in the forest. The finishing line with the harmonica solo is a triumph! Interesting that it is Jacques who chooses not to return to the former dukedom but announces that he will live in a cave so that in the next play we can believe the reclusive Jacques has mutated into the bookish Prospero.

For The Tempest director Mendes has the whole cast onstage for all of the play in the background so Stephen Dillane as Prospero works on his laptop while Trinculo (Anthony O'Donnell) and Stephano (Thomas Sadoski) get inebriated with Ron Cephas Jones, a rather interesting Caliban. Christian Camargo's Ariel clad in a suit with no shirt nor shoes is a strange servant figure in this difficult to capture role. However at two hours 15 minutes with no interval this production is so slow moving as to seen interminable. Some of the unplanned humour came from a member of the audience whose snores could be heard clearly at quieter moments. I did however like the fine singing from Michelle Beck as Iris and Jenni Barber as Ceres with Ashlie Atkinson's statuesque Juno.

To read reviews of these productions in New York and to access a full list of cast and credits, use the links, Review of The Tempest at BAM and Review of As You Like It at BAM

Subscribe to our FREE email updates with a note from editor Elyse Sommer about additions to the website -- with main page hot links to the latest features posted at our numerous locations. To subscribe, E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com
put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message -- if you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country.
The Bridge Project 2010 - As You Like It and The Tempest
Cast and credits as for New York
Box Office: 0844 871 7609
Booking at the Old Vic to 21st August 2010
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 25th and 26th June performances at the Old Vic, Waterloo Road, London SE1 8NB (Rail/Tube: Waterloo)

REVIEW FEEDBACK
Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
  • I agree with the review of The Bridge Project 2010 - As You Like It and The Tempest
  • I disagree with the review of The Bridge Project 2010 - As You Like It and The Tempest
  • The review made me eager to see The Bridge Project 2010 - As You Like It and The Tempest
Click on the address link E-mail: esommer@curtainup.com
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V):

Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email . . . also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review.

a list of all book reviews, see our,
VALVESGate valvePRESSURE VALVESGlobe valveCHECK VALVES
London Theatre Tickets
Lion King Tickets
Billy Elliot Tickets
Mighty Boosh Tickets
Mamma Mia Tickets
We Will Rock You Tickets
Theatre Tickets
London Theatre Walks


Peter Ackroyd's  History of London: The Biography



London Sketchbook



tales from shakespeare
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
Click image to buy.
Our Review


©Copyright 2010, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com