“A slick psychological production, Flywheel’s production of Measure for Measure brings fresh and energising performances but misses out a commanding adversary.”
In an ambitious five-week repertory staging of classic plays at Riverside Studios, Flywheel’s slick production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure is an enjoyable affair deftly brought to life by a largely tight ensemble to explore power and corruption.
Measure for Measure is Shakespeare’s great problem play; in the city-state of Vienna ruled by Duke Vincentio, the Duke chooses to leave his puritanical deputy Angelo in his authority during his absence. Angelo quickly enforces the city’s morality laws by condemning Claudio to death for sleeping with his now-pregnant fiancé out of wedlock. His sister Isabella- a nun- entreats Angelo her brother’s life and is offered an ultimatum: Sleep with Angelo, or her brother be executed. The Duke learns of this and proceeds to enact a plan to see justice is served.
The play’s director Benedict Esdale chooses to cut the excess fat of side-plots and characters to deliver a succinctly fast-paced and psychological production- getting straight to the meaty heart of the story to the audience’s benefit. However, what arises is not the typical conflict between Angelo and Isabella but instead the powerhouse personalities of Duke Vincentio and Isabella fighting for justice.
The minute Ben Fensome’s Duke Vincentio struts on stage, his charm and chatter make him a compelling and utterly likeable watch. His Duke much resembles a showbiz personality deciding to be a ‘normal person’ to discover what people really think of him. His disguise as a ‘humble friar’ is delightful as he adopts the bashful accent and personality of comedian Stephen Merchant, and Fensome’s Duke slowly discovers his own moral backbone as he witnesses corruption committed in his name.
Where Fensome sparks and spits like flame, Crosby’s Angelo is cold and lacking personality. The righteous Angelo is typically a great psychologically complex character, but Crosby whiplashes between seeming disinterested in the responsibility of power, and squeaky with fluster at the thought of feeling lust. As Angelo wrestles with his sexual hunger for a young nun, Crosby brings little to no range or depth in his famous speech. He comes to no decision or epiphany and continues onwards as he started till the play’s end.
For any other production where Isabella had been played as delicate and saintly opposite this antagonist, the production would lose all momentum. Not so from Jessica Temple; her no-nonsense Isabella has a backbone which grinds painfully against the revealed corruption of her superiors. Temple’s Isabella commands the space with the authority of a mother superior. As she weighs Angelo’s lecherous proposition, she evokes a grounded realism which makes her Isabella more than another fantastical Shakespeare character, but a contemporary woman cornered in an impossible situation- “To whom should I complain? Did I tell this/ Who would believe me?”
Being a repertory company, Flywheel’s surrounding ensemble players are all excellent in their supporting roles. Conor Dumbrell and Cash Holland’s Claudio and Esculus are memorable during their brief time on stage. As Isabella’s condemned brother Claudio, Dumbrell carries himself with punkish swagger and intelligence when onstage; instead of complaining of his predicament Dembrell acts as the voice of reason. Holland too carries herself with a quiet dignity, her rich voice a pleasure to listen to. It’s a shame she was not cast as Angelo- she has all the gravitas for it.
In a simple black box theatre, the production elements are equally clean. Tall, white boxes with translucent fronts on either side act as room walls for scenes, lit with a single colour to denote scene changes and psychological distress with great efficiency. The background music track almost resembling breathing came and went- when silence fell you could feel its absence.
A production mostly filled with a range and depth of passionate and humorous performances, Flywheel’s production of Measure for Measure is an excellent staging of one of Shakespeare’s more difficult plays to find a grounded balance with. It was almost measuredly perfectly.
Catch at Riverside Studios until Saturday 3rd October. Tickets are available here.