Review: The Two Noble Kinsmen, Swan Theatre, Stratford
Words were spoken but made no sense and were forgotten as soon as they were uttered. There was no sign of any plot, no reason to like or dislike any characters.
And the more you tried to focus on the intricacies of this 400-year-old collaboration between Shakespeare and John Fletcher, the more distractions were thrown our way.
Why were some of the women wearing crash-helmet type headgear? Why was one wearing plastic artificial boobs? Why, strangest of all, was one ancient Athenian carrying a chainsaw? I sat through the first 20 minutes of Blanche McIntyre's production thinking, this must be how dementia feels.
And then, blessed relief. The two kinsmen, Arcite and Palamon, played by Jamie Wilkes and James Corrigan, burst on to the stage. In a couple of minutes this pair of prisoners-of-war spied a beautiful noblewoman, Emilia (Frances McNamee) through their bars, fell instantly in love with her and swore to fight to the death for her.
It was a terrific performance. Wilkes and Corrigan are perfectly paired. Their banter was fast, furious and crystal-clear and their swordplay was dazzling. Whenever the lads were on the stage, whether wooing or scrapping, the audience loved it.
But the rest of the play is frankly not much cop which may explain why the RSC has not performed it for 30 years.
There are some interesting touches, including the strong suggestion that Emilia has a serious crush on her serving wench. The chainsaw, alas, remains a mystery.
The Two Noble Kinsmen is at the Swan until February 7.
By Peter Rhodes
