Propeller in Henry V

Henry V may not be Shakespeare’s most popular play, but it is certainly his most revered, especially in England where it has become a source of national pride. During Propeller’s production of Henry V on March 21^st at the Rose Theatre in Kingston an audience member referred to the text as “a marvelous piece of propaganda.” This elicited a good deal of grumbling and disapproval from others in the theater because it is really so much more than that. This is a play about war, about honor, about sacrifice, and about the burden of responsibility. Shakespeare asks his audience to use their imagination and place themselves in the middle of a battle, sympathizing with each character’s fear, loss, and victory. It is extremely effective and amazingly powerful, especially when performed by such talented and hardworking performers as the members of Propeller most certainly are.

            This all male acting troupe took Henry V head on, pouring everything they had into the vast array of characters. Each cast member took on two or three roles a piece throughout the play, expertly adjusting their physicality and tone of voice to fit each character. The men who stepped into the female roles did a fantastic job of adopting feminine characteristics and interacting appropriately with the other men onstage. Of course this did add a comedic affect which some might have considered inappropriate, I found that it added another dynamic and took the whole performance on a sort of roller coaster ride, constantly moving from heavy emotions to lighter material. Karl Davies, who played the parts of Katherine, the Boy, and Scroop, was particularly impressive in terms of versatility. The transitions between characters were incredibly fast and seemingly effortless.

            These transitions were aided by the use of costumes, each added onto the blank canvas of an army uniform. Even though the context of this production was current events, the character defining aspects of the costumes were almost timeless; the uniforms were the khaki we are all too familiar with thanks to media coverage of current conflicts. The “women” on the other hand were dressed in gorgeous brocade dresses and the noblemen wore distinctly 19^th century garb. Far from seeming out of place or mismatched this decision ingeniously divided the characters in terms of class, just as costumes would have done during Shakespeare’s time.

            Perhaps it was the simple and versatile sets that enabled this ambiguity in terms of costumes to be so effective. The stage was decorated with several metal scaffolds, one of which could be moved around by the performers. Neutral colored boxes, tables, and chairs were the only other set pieces and were utilized to create a sense of space and not merely as decoration. That being said, the stage was never dull, instead it seemed to leap right into the laps of the audience thanks to endless amount of fog, flying tennis balls, strong incense, and blood squirting everywhere. For once in my life I was delighted to be sitting in the cheap seats; seated right at eye level with the stage I felt fully immersed in the action.

I was extremely happy with the decision to leave out guns from the production; the soldiers carried batons, while Henry himself held a sword. I find the presence of guns in Shakespeare interpretations extremely distracting and out of place in terms of storyline. Even without firearms the violence of this story was in no way diminished. Instead of overly choreographed stage fighting (which can be incredibly powerful if done properly but can easily look over worked and melodramatic) the actors used their weapons on punching bags instead of their fellow performers. This replicated the noise of a real battle and also enabled the actors to approach the violence with real power instead of holding back for the sake of safety.

            One of the most impressive aspects of this production was actually the transitions between scenes. Using singing, musical instruments, and even dancing, Propeller made the movements between one setting and another so exciting and engaging that the audience had no time to let their minds wander away from the action. Additionally it revealed the various musical talents of the cast which were particularly impressive. Music from all genres and time periods was used but each piece seemed to fit appropriately with the mood of the corresponding scene.

            This production as a whole had a sense of gravity, of passion, and of real love for the words that were being spoken. It was very obvious that it was Shakespeare’s text that inspired these performers and the creative team behind them to put on such a fantastic performance. As someone who had previously only read Henry V and never seen it performed live it was a perfect introduction to a play that is so essential to English history and theatre. I sincerely hope I get the chance to see Propeller work their magic on another Shakespeare masterpiece before too long.

Propeller is currently touring the UK with Henry V and The Winter's Tale  http://propeller.org.uk/current-productions/henry-v-and-the-winters-tale

The Royal Ballet in The Dream and Song of the Earth

It's the weather. I'll blame my blah week on the weather. Spring has certainly arrived, and in British terms that simply means lots and lots of rain. So you can imagine that the idea of a trip to the Royal Opera House would brighten up my Monday. It did! In fact, I'd been looking forward to this performance since December when I won seven pound standing tickets through ROH's student standby scheme. It's a fantastic program that I would highly recommend signing up for if you are a penniless, art loving student like me.
Unfortunately, due to insinuating circumstances, I didn't arrive at the theater until five minutes after the first ballet had started. How humiliating! Despite some disapproving glares we were ushered up to the top floor by a very nice man and told we could watch the first half of the show live on television screens. We bought ourselves a large pot of tea and had our own little private viewing party with all the other stragglers, it wasn't half bad! As much as I was upset to miss The Dream, I do appreciate ROH implementing this policy; it is highly irritating and unprofessional to have people scurrying around and disrupting the performance just as the curtain has gone up. I will be sure not to repeat this embarrassing mistake but it can be difficult when you live in a city that leaves you at the mercy of public transport.
Even though I have seen The Dream several times previously I do not feel I can comment fairly on the Royal Ballet's interpretation of it after watching from the lobby. From what I could tell the costumes and set were gorgeous and as we meekly filed in after the interval I heard only positive reactions from the proper theater goers who had actually managed to arrive on time.
When we did find our "seats" I was happy to discover we weren't up in the gods as expected. We stood in the back of the right circle with fantastic views despite a rather ill placed pole (why do these exist in theaters?). Apart from having a chance to watch all the posh people milling around it was fun to be with all the real ballet fanatics. Several had brought binoculars and all seemed to be carrying out  quite well informed conversations about ballet. I hope I will be able to join them more often in the future! Not bad for seven pounds a pop!
Thank goodness the ballet we missed was not Song of the Earth; already a breathtakingly beautiful piece of choreography, this particularly performance took the opportunity to display some of the Royal Ballet's (and Britain's) finest dancing. Ever. As a huge Carlos Acosta fan girl I had to stop myself from squeeing every time he appeared on the stage, and I have a feeling I wasn't the only one! It was lovely to seem him do something more lyrical as it allowed him to show his intense dramatic ability separate from those breathtaking leaps. As the messenger of death he was appropriately mysterious but strong, so strong that the elegant Nehemiah Kish was quite overshadowed. This is perhaps implied in the choreography but also has a lot to do with their contrasting styles. Also their support system was a little weak; the men's corps seemed to lack some of the passion and unity of the women.
Sarah Lamb was absolutely charming in the Third Song. Held upside down one second and balancing in a perfect arabesque the next, she never missed a beat and floated effortlessly through the complex choreography. Her technique is stunningly perfect, combined with unequaled fluidity and a simply natural presence she is a joy to watch.
Topping it all off was the powerful, yet delicate, Marianela Nunez. It was in the the Sixth Song that I realized why dancers loved this piece so much. She threw herself into the movement, letting momentum lead her from one step to the next. The dazzling series of bourres that took her from one side of the stage to the other multiple times had the audience breathless. Her emotions were raw, heartfelt, and not the least bit melodramatic. When paired with the two leading men she completed the otherwise odd triangle. As the three dancers began their final series of tiny developes moving downstage she began to cry. Not small elegant tears but huge sobs, clearly visible to everyone in the theater. Nothing was held back, this was no ballerina putting on a show, this was Marianela Nunez moved to tears by the sheer emotion of the piece she had just danced. A program note indicated that Nunez had in fact dedicated this particular performance to Anya Evans Jones, "her former teacher, mentor, and dear friend." I cannot think of a more beautiful or heartfelt way to honor someone she so obviously cared about. What a beautiful evening!