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Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure is traditionally seen as one of his ‘problem plays’, due to its ambiguous message. The Tower Theatre’s production, directed by George Savona (with Krishmeela Rittoo as Assistant Director) reminds us why this is. Set in the Jacobean period in which it was originally performed, with costumes designed by Christine Bowmaker, Jude Chalk’s design is relatively minimalistic, with two prints: one of a Puritan eating dinner with his family and another of the same man paying a prostitute. This reminds us of the hypocrisy that is at the heart of the play.
Realising that the city has grown too lax under his rule, Duke Vicentio (Nic Campos) uses the excuse of a trip to temporarily abdicate his power in favour of the supposedly upright Angelo (Patrick Shearer). However, not completely trusting Angelo, Vicentio disguises himself as a friar in order to check up on his protege. This is a good idea, as the imprisonment and planned execution of Claudio (Jake Williams) for impregnating Juliet (Zoë Stokes) outside of marriage, throws a wrench in the plan. When Claudio’s friend Lucio (Luke Owen) pressures Claudio’s sister Isabella (Ella Dale), a novice nun, into pleading on his behalf, Angelo offers her a terrible bargain - sleep with him or see her brother die.
One of the strengths of the acting in this production is the way in which the cast use expression and gesture to reveal their true feelings. Initially, Shearer plays Angelo as a deeply repressed man. However, lust quickly overcomes scruples, and after a brief moment of moral torment, he chooses to embrace his dark side, with his anger exploding with an almost feral snarl as he declares “Who will believe thee, Isabel?”, when she threatens to expose him.
Similarly, while Campos generally plays Vicentio as an amiable buffoon, it’s clear that Lucio’s repeated jibes about the Duke’s liberality have clearly wounded his pride. As a result, Vicentio’s extended “return” when he initially appears to side with Angelo, before finally setting things right, looks less like simple play-acting and more like a subconscious desire to get his revenge on the city by tormenting them.
For her part, Dale plays Isabella as a genuinely devout woman, horrified as much by Lucio’s confession that he no longer believes in an afterlife, as by the fact that he wishes her to go along with Angelo’s evil scheme. Her look of horror at the end, at the realisation that she won’t be allowed to pursue her chosen vocation, as she stands alone, underlines that, amidst all the rejoicing, the ending contains some bitterness as well.
The minor characters also get their moment in the spotlight. Owen provides comic relief as the libertine Lucio, while Landé Belo provides some moral balance as Escalus, his assistant. However, one of the moral centres of the play is BeEbop Curaçao as the Provost, enforcing the law, while acknowledging its shortcomings.
Of course, there is room for improvement. For instance, Savona, could have trimmed the text, a bit more especially the scenes involving jailing of the bawds (played by Katie Smith and Nat Barker). While Smith and Barker are excellent in their roles (Smith in particular) the humour relies on puns and wordplay that appeal more to the audience of Shakespeare’s time rather than our own.
Still, this is a powerful production that brings out elements of the play that have been overlooked in other recent productions of this Shakespeare classic. With hypocrisy and sexual misconduct, as well as abuse of power, topical themes, the Tower’s decision to re-stage Measure for Measure seems timely.
Other cast members include Steve Saxby, Sam D’Leon, Cymbre Barnes, Christopher Lloyd-James and Stephen Deaville. Alex Kampmann and Rob Irvine designed the lighting and sound respectively while Jack Pattison was Stage Manager.
Photography by Jason Harris
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