The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Thursday, August 8, 1996

Dramatis Personae for TROILUS AND CRESSIDA:

The Trojans

Priam--------------------Griffith Jones
Hector-------------------Louis Hilyer
Paris--------------------Ray Fearon
Helenus------------------Alisdair Simpson
Deiphobus----------------Mark Gillis
Troilus------------------Joseph Fiennes
Margarelon---------------Stephen Billington
Aeneas-------------------David Pullan
Antenor------------------Simon Westwood
Cressida-----------------Victoria Hamilton
Pandarus-----------------Clive Francis
Helen--------------------Katia Caballero
Cassandra----------------Sarah Weymouth
Andromache---------------Martina Laird
Alexander----------------Paul Ritter
Paris' Servant-----------Adrian Schiller

The Greeks

Agamemnon----------------Edward de Souza
Menelaus-----------------Colin Farrell
Nestor-------------------Arthur Cox
Ulysses------------------Philip Ross
Ajax---------------------Ross O'Hennessy
Achilles-----------------Philip Quast
Patroculus---------------Jeremy Sheffield
Diomedes-----------------Richard Dillane
Thersites----------------Richard McCabe
Calchas------------------Raymond Bowers
Diomedes' Servant--------David Fahm
Director-----------------Ian Judge

Unfortunately, TROILUS AND CRESSIDA is not one of the Shakespeare's best plays, which is to say that it is not great. Put another way, the play has some memorable lines and speeches, but it does not translate well to the stage. The plot, action, and movement are poor, and one can easily become bored or lost, even in a grand production. In addition to it having too big a cast (which is one of the reasons I believe adding to the confusion in this epic-drama), the play is difficult to categorize. For instance, David Bevington lists it under the comedies, but it can also be included with the histories or tragedies. Fortunately, the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of TROILUS AND CRESSIDA was sophisticated enough to make entertaining an enigmatic play which is difficult to stage.

First, I was utterly wowed by the staging at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. The mechanical wall, which changed with practically every scene, brought a special element to the text -- I he-sitate to say that it (the staging) "dressed up" an average story, but I was reminded of those Hollywood movies that spruce up average (or below-average: Judge Dredd) plots with over-the-top special effects. Maybe modern staging is what the play needed or was intended for, but the mechanical aspect of the sta-ging was one element of the production which made it entertaining.

Another element was the quality of acting put forth by certain performers. Troilus, for instance, gave a strong show as the co-title character. He was believable and was cast well in the part. Luckily, Joseph Fi-ennes (who played the warrior-lover) had his long black hair in a pony-tail throughout the play or I would not have been able to distinguish him from his brothers/co-stars. Also, Ross O'Hennessy as Ajax, Richard McCabe as Thersites, and Clive Francis as Pandarus added to the comic element of the play. O'Hennessy played Ajax as the typical dumb jock, muscle-bound idiot; Francis played Pandarus as the bumbling, meddling old man (seen also in Juliet's nurse); and McCabe's Thersites practically stole the show. It was the fine acting by this small group of four actors which breathed sweet life into the mouth of a dying play.

There was one scene in the play which also contributed to a successful production, and it was the battle scene. During this scene, certain actors/characters, like Thersites, would stand at center stage and sum-marize the battle. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast would mimic the action, placing Hector (for example) on his men's shoulders or having skirmishes behind the speaker. The action was changing so rapidly that it was almost comical to witness. Perhaps Ian judge, the director, had his finger on the comedic pulse of the mock-epic that Shakespeare intended. Although inconsistent throughout the play, this bizarre strand of humor found its way into the production at other points, too, such as Cressida's betrayal scene. She would call back Diomedes, played by Richard Dillane, and then turn him away and then call him back again so many times that he looked like he was performing Friskies' cha-cha-cha. I laughed several times throug-hout the scene; I only hope it was appropriate. Perhaps if the comedic possibilities of the play are exploited fully, then Shakespeare's demythologization of the epic genre and epic hero would be abundantly clear.

Anyway, the sum of the production not only made the play pleasing, but it also elucidated several of the text's dominant themes. Some of Shakespeare's traditional themes evident in the play, and made evident by RSC's production, include the definition of love, what it is to be a real man, wisdom spouting from the mouth of a fool, the ineffectualness of words without thought and/or action, and the destructive power of duty to parental (usually the father's) legacy. Also, the themes of old versus young and love is a battlefield were portrayed here. Watching this play, I had no doubt concerning its authorship: the same person who inked TROILUS AND CRESSIDA undoubtedly was the same person who wrote HAMLET, ROMEO AND JULIET, and AS YOU LIKE IT -- and that person who obviously William Shakespeare.

After writing this review, my opinions about TROILUS AND CRESSIDA the play and TROILUS AND CRESSIDA the production have changed, if not reversed. That is, the more I ponder the play's comedic possibilities, the more I think that Ian Judge's production failed to bring them to fruition. Perhaps the play as a text was written on a deeper plane than originally considered, and maybe, therefore, it is not an example of Shakespeare's waning powers or a slip in his dramatic prowess. After the play and well into writing this review, I planned on giving this production an A-/B+ and the play a C+/B-, but now I am no longer sure. I enjoyed the production, yet I cannot fully doubt Shakespeare's skill. Alas, I shall simply give the entire spiel an A-/B+ until I can resolve these issues.