Measure for Measure
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

 

ABUSE of power. Check. Corruption. Check. Predatory male behaviour. Check. Draconian measures. Check. A sprinkle of pantomime. Check.

Blanche McIntyre’s Measure for Measure couldn’t be timelier. But rather than locate it in the here and now she’s transposed Shakespeare’s quintessential “problem play” into the 1970s, with James Cotterill’s design finding a happy medium between Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Austin Powers.

There is a sneaky reference to the three-day week as the electronic lighting flickers until the candles which usually light the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse take over. It’s the first of many clever devices which characterise this perceptive production.

One of which is to re-gender the all-important Duke. Hattie Ladbury takes the part of the city’s ruler who temporarily abdicates her position and hands authority to Angelo, her outwardly puritanical deputy.

It’s a casting decision which, to its credit, largely goes under the radar until its tense conclusion. This is mainly due to Ledbury’s layered, mercurial interpretation of the manipulative Duke, which stirs up the many residual questions about the character’s motives and leaves you wondering about them long after the lights come down.

The same can’t be said for the easily corrupted Angelo (Ashley Zhangazha) who has decided to give his “sensual race the rein” in pursuit of Isabella for whom “more than our brother is our chastity.”

Her brother Claudio (Josh Zare) languishes in prison for “getting Madam Julietta with child” but despite being soon to wed, they have fallen foul of the deputy’s freshly imposed draconian decrees on sexual activity in Vienna.

The repercussions of such governmental hypocrisy sets off a chain of events that baffle and enthral in equal measure.

Shakespeare’s first three acts are overflowing with rich personal struggles and wider moral issues of sexual politics and power. They contrast greatly with the final two, which are largely spent ironing out the entangled plot lines.

Despite this, McIntyre and her awesome cast keep us riveted throughout, finding the ideal balance between comedy and gravity to achieve a resolution to the problem play.

When just eight cast members emerge to take their bows it is arguably the most shocking moment of the evening. So good are the multi-rolling performances that it’s hard to believe there aren’t more of them. Particular credit must go to Eloise Secker and Ishia Bennison who combine for a total of seven parts with incredible skill.

You’ll be hard pushed to find a better Bard production this winter.
 
Runs until January 15. Box office: www.shakespearesglobe.com