The Two Gentlemen Of Verona

The Two Gentlemen Of Verona

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Nick Bagnall
An Everyman & Playhouse and Shakespeare’s Globe co-production
Liverpool Everyman
Until 29th October 2016

Reviewed by Colin Serjent
Photograph by Gary Carlton

This is a mishmash of a production, which at times resembled the annual Rock ‘n’ Roll panto held at the Everyman, but not as entertaining!

The most jarring aspect was the use of Shakespearian dialogue being used in the context of the mid-60s hippy/flower power presence at that time together with the then fashions of that period. It simply did not gel…at all.

This aspect of transferring Shakespeare to various periods of history – some worked, some didn’t – is getting a bit tiresome.

A redeeming feature was the use of a lot of music, notably by the aptly named The Musician (Fred Thomas), who played electric guitar, drums, banjo, and also performed the role of Crab the dog.

The Outlaws, all of whom are banished gentlemen, are re-imagined on the Everyman stage as a hippy band and the set, somewhat cramped, features ladders at both sides of a 1960s Top Of The Pops-like symbolic structure, which the actors scaled on numerous occasions.

The cast are admirable, with most of them – similar to the Rock ‘N’ Roll panto – doubling as actors and musicians/singers. The pick of them for me was Garry Cooper, who played the part of Duke and Antonio.

In relation to the general themes of the play a suitable song to include would have been ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ by the Supremes.

1 Comment


  1. Bit of a half-baked, not very well thought out review. The production was a lot more subtle, playful and cleverer than the reviewer has realised. I really enjoyed it

    Reply

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