Skip to main content
Dusting off a Shakespearan fairy tale
GORDON PARSONS applauds a production which turns a Jacobean obscurity into a dreamlike journey

Pericles
The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

 

THIS fairy tale for adults, thought to have been only partially Shakespeare’s work, is relatively rarely produced today on the modern stage. It did not even appear in the First Folio, the Bard’s Bible. Yet it was apparently very popular in its own day.

Tamara Harvey’s new production for the RSC should serve to resurrect its popularity. 

Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Exhibition review / 21 March 2025
21 March 2025
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
Film of the Week: / 20 March 2025
20 March 2025
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
Short Story / 7 February 2025
7 February 2025
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
BenchMarx / 28 January 2025
28 January 2025
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
Similar stories
Theatre review / 23 October 2024
23 October 2024
GORDON PARSONS hails a magnificent performance by a cast who make sure that every word can be heard and understood
Theatre review / 29 July 2024
29 July 2024
GORDON PARSONS relishes a Shakespearean comedy played at pace for sheer delight
Theatre Review / 26 June 2024
26 June 2024
GORDON PARSONS applauds a compelling dramatisation of the tortured process by which the 1997 conference failed to address global warming
Theatre review / 24 April 2024
24 April 2024
Transmorphed into a romp in the Caribbean, the play effortlessly wins over the audience, writes GORDON PARSONS