This review has been taken from my NSDF blog, written for the Peter de Haan Charitable Trust.
Our County's Good, the first text-based work in four shows seen at the NSDF, is a difficult piece but Bristol Old Vic's Young Company perform Timberlake Wertembaker's work with commendable energy. This, a tale of convicts transported to Australia and the redemptive quality of theatre, rounded off a fine second day at the festival. Lieutenant Clark's crusade to perform Farquhar with a cast of criminals is the drive of this often metatheatrical text and their endeavours and setbacks form the core of the drama. The show oozes professionalism in creativity and design whilst in a cast which boasted a strong ensemble, the performances of Aydin Balli as Governor Phillip and the sadly underused Lucy Bishop as Shitty Meg shone through. A challenging performance was given by Jesse Jones who both enthralled and infuriated as tortured midshipman Harry Brewer, capturing the audience with his first lines but then stayed at the same level of energy throughout - a shift through the gears would have improved this. As a show the transfer to performance in the round worked fantastically and it would have been interesting to compare this with its Old Vic Studio original. The strongest element of OCG was the competent use of live sound with sung harmonies, piercing wails from oscillating wine glasses and thud of the bass drum creating the best soundscape of the festival so far. As mentioned, a difficult text chosen by director Miranda Cromwell but its is executed well by a cast willing to do more than just act on the stage, the ensemble inhabiting the back of the auditorium behind the audience and creating a great performance energy all around the space of the SJT main. A comprehensive piece of theatre which tackles both social and artistic questions within the microcosm of transportation but intent on addressing the wider issues of the play in society on a whole and a great ending to a day at the NSDF.
Our County's Good: ****
Image courtesy of Bristol Old Vic.
No comments:
Post a Comment