The second play in Sam Mendes’ Bridge Project, twinning plays and actors across the Atlantic, The Winter’s Tale, arrives in its penultimate destination before moving on to Athens in August for the planned final performances. Now in 2002 Mendes was the darling of London theatre when his swansong to his artistic directorship at the Donmar was a Chekhov and a Shakespeare: Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night, productions that are unlikely to be bettered in my lifetime. Memorable too was that Sam Mendes met his wife Kate Winslet when she auditioned to play the female leads, but her film career clashed with staging plans when the two plays in London and at BAM were delayed.

I have trouble linking these latest two plays thematically. The motto written on the wall speaks of time and regret, "O call back yesterday, Let this return.", but the diversionary activity that led me to compare and contrast Twelfth Night and Vanya does not take flight. In The Winter’s Tale: Who compares with the selfish and backward looking Ranevskaya? Who is the new order represented by Lopakhin? Having seen both The Cherry Orchard and The Winter’s Tale at The Old Vic I was disappointed, but less so by the Shakespeare.

Simon Russell Beale is a rather benign Leontes. A Leontes, (and here I concur with Paulanne Simmons who reviewed The Winter’s Tale in New York see below) who is not unreasonably, insanely jealous does not make a lot of sense. Rebecca Hall’s young and pregnant Hermione reclines on cushions with Josh Hamilton’s excellent Polixines, letting their hands mirror each other in a classic flirtatious gesture. Leontes seems right to be concerned at his wife’s behaviour. Could the Delphic Oracle be wrong or could have the message have been intercepted and changed? (see Hamlet)

In this year when we are celebrating 500 years since the accession to the throne of the Tudor King Henry VIII, the father of the monarch for most of Shakespeare’s life, Queen Elizabeth I, we remember kings casting off their wives. Henry VIII famously had six wives. However we know that The Winter’s Tale was based on Richard Greene’s 1588 story of Pandosto, a king of Bohemia who falls in love with his daughter, without knowing it is his daughter, and his queen who kills herself after grief at the death of her son. This story will resonate with those of us who studied Chaucer’s The Clerk’s Tale, where the gentle Griselda is sorely tested by her husband Walter. The Lord Walter turns out his wife back to her pigsty, she was lowly born, takes her children away and calls his wife back to wait on his new bride, who is her daughter. Griselda does all this without complaint. More fool her, I say. Given that Shakespeare also wrote The Taming of the Shrew and All’s Well That Ends Well we cannot expect women to have rights in Shakespeare’s body of work.

The Sicilian scenes work well but even Ethan Hawke’s diverting Johnny Depp inspired Autolycus cannot lift the yokel muddle that is Bohemia. The lewd bucolic balloon dance is vulgar and embarrassing. I can’t help feeling the Coen Brothers would have done it better. When Camillo (Paul Jesson) says of Perdita (Morven Christie), "Godsooth she is the queen of curds and cream" he is alluding to her obvious breeding which distances her from the country folk. Not something which came out in Morven Christie’s performance. I did like the large Grisly bear which sees off Antigonus (Dakin Matthews) and Sinead Cusack’s spirited Paulina.

Back to Sicily for the final scene which is very moving as Simon Russell Beale’s sad, sad Leontes says remorsefully "She I killed!" and the impressive Rebecca Hall stands as still as any Hermione statue before being sweetly reunited with her husband and daughter.

We heard that Stephen Dillane was to recreate Hamlet and The Tempest for the Bridge Project before family affairs interfered with these plans. I am sure that much has been learnt this year and next two year will see The Bridge Project strengthen.

Cast and credits as below
Box Office: 0844 871 7628
Booking to 15 August 2009
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge on 11th June 2009 performance at The Old Vic, The Cut, London SE1 (Rail/Tube: Waterloo)