Ian Redford (Arden) and Alice Arden (Sharon Small). Photo: Manuel Harlan
Reviewed by James Karas
Arden of Faversham has
the distinction of being written by that prolific writer Anonymous sometime in
the late 1580’s and is considered the first domestic tragedy to have survived from
the Elizabethan era. It is rarely produced but the Royal Shakespeare Company has
staged it again this year in the Swan Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon. The last
time the RSC visited this play was in 1982 and that is a long coffee break by
any description.
Did I say domestic tragedy? As
far as director Polly Findlay is concerned this is a modern domestic farce
involving murder. The culprits, from the unfaithful wife and her lover, to the
people conscripted to carry out the deed, are incompetent amateurs if not worse
and it takes almost the entire play to carry out what seemed like a simple murder
at the start.
Let us go to the beginning. The
original play is set in the sixteenth century in Faversham, Kent but the
current production has been moved it to the present. Arden (Ian Redford) is a
wealthy, middle-aged, greedy, overweight, landowner married to the younger,
slimmer, randy Alice (Sharon Small). Tight dress, very high heels, blonde hair
and provocative mannerisms forces one to classify Alice as a slut. She has a low-life
lover named Mosby (Keir Charles) who wears sneakers and tight pants, chews gum
and has the manners of someone a few steps below home sapiens on the evolutionary ladder. To be fair, when he is
about to kiss Alice, he yanks the gum out of his mouth.
Alice and Mosby want to get rid
of Arden and they conscript Arden’s servant Michael (Ian Bonar), Clarke the
painter (Christopher Middleton), the dispossessed tenant Greene (Tom Padley)
and the professional murderers Will (Jay Simpson) and Shakebag (Tony
Jayawardena). Both Alice and Mosby have another side to their characters and do
show some introspection. It is possible to produce the play as a melodrama but
with so many morons on board, Findlay’s approach is a good choice.
Redford’s Arden may be a tough
businessman but he is not too swift where his wife is concerned. Alice calls
out the name of her lover in her sleep and Arden finds their love letters but
when Mosby promises not do it again, they become fast friends. The only thing
left for Arden is to strut on and off the stage dodging the latest attempt to
kill him.
Sharon Small’s Alice is a piece
of work and the actor seemed to be enjoying the role of the shameless hussy who
will promise anything and do anything to bump off her husband. Much of the
drama is reduced no doubt by changing times. A woman daring to plot her
husband’s death would have been rarer and totally unbelievable and outrageous
four hundred years ago. Not that is in style now. Alice does have her moment of
self-realization when she muses about being honest Arden’s wife and not Arden’s
honest wife.
Simpson and Jayawardena get most
of the laughs as the oafish murderers but Charles’s odious Mosby is not far behind.
Arden of Faversham is based on an actual and well-documented
murder. The author is fairly faithful to the actual events but the plot becomes
a bit thin near the middle. Findlay’s farcical approach with modern overtones
and deft directing keeps the action moving.
I presume that the RSC is
producing Arden of Faversham both honoris causa because of the type of
play that it is and the time of its writing, and because it is a play worth
producing. In other words, the RSC is leading its audience or creating an
audience for lesser known plays. This contrasts sharply with the attitude of
the Stratford Festival of Canada where they produce what they think people will
like. That is not leadership. It may all depend on the amount of public funding
available in which case the shame is transferred to narrow-minded politicians. There
are new works produced and attempts at broadening our horizons but there is still
plenty of room for more aggressive and imaginative programing.
________
Arden of Faversham continues until October 2, 2014 at
the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
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