Last week, Act One staged a run of Shakespeare’s problem play Measure for Measure, directed by Alexander Sutton and produced by Nik Pelley. From the wonderfully dynamic music by Luke Monkhouse, to its strong ensemble cast, the show artfully balances the severe dark elements of the play with hilarious and salacious moments that had the audience laughing uproariously. The play switches between tragedy and comedy fluidly throughout.
On one hand, the Duke has left Angelo, a man who exploits his judicial power by condemning Claudio to death for his sexual relationship with Juliet, in charge of Vienna. Claudio’s sister, Isabella is then faced with an abhorrent dilemma: to surrender her virtue and chastity to Angelo in order to save her brother. This heart-wrenching plot is accentuated by Tabitha Kenworthy’s astounding performance acting as Isabella.
As the moral and emotional centre of the play, her shifts between anger and grief were palpable for the audience. The final scene, where Isabella falls to her knees alone on stage, eclipsed in red lighting and a hauntingly sombre instrumental, successfully portrayed the horror that, I for one, felt when reading her fate— to abandon her convent and marry the Duke. Despite the play being well known, this adaptation felt fresh and thrilling; the actors added their own improvised lines to highlight the absurdity of some of the key moments.
Her shifts between anger and grief were palpable for the audience
For instance, when the Duke asks Isabella for her hand in marriage (a moment that seems to ironically contrast the message of the play), the Provost (Lily Spitza) eloquently shouts, “Are you fucking kidding me right now?” This is an example of how this production seamlessly creates charged, tense scenes whilst being able to deliver comedic moments that do not shy away from the challenging issues within Measure for Measure. Moreover, characters like Lucio (Bethan Thomas), Elbow (Sophia Szczegolski- Jacobs) and Pompey (Niamh Shaw) fulfilled the comedic side of the play. From the handling of a dildo on stage, to hilarious attempts at “hiding” (i.e. hiding behind posters and clinging to walls in the background), the audience was left greatly amused.
Leaning into the salacious elements of the play, the hypocrisy and corruption of power within the system are stressed. While those of the lower class are condemned for impropriety, both Lucio and Angelo’s later-revealed transgressions have been wrongfully concealed. This careful balancing of tones has been woven cleverly in this production so that whilst Huw Patterson’s Angelo unsettles the audience, Pompey and Elbow’s exchanges lighten the mood.