RSC’s Swan Theatre

I love going to the theatre but I don’t do it often enough so when a friend suggested we go see a play at the Swan Theatre, I jumped at the chance. We went to see the ‘Arden of Faversham’ — an anonymous story about a woman who fails in multiple (albeit hilarious) attempts to murder her husband. I really enjoyed the play and I loved the costumes and hair, especially the main character Alice (I spent some time when I got home trying to recreate the look!). The little touches throughout the play like the cup sporting a pair of naked breasts on the desk and a nodding Jesus. It was a great performance and fast-​paced at times with some great slap-​stick comedy moments.
The venue itself is right next to the main RSC Theatre on the banks of the Avon. There’s a bar inside which has a good selection at reasonable prices and you can take your drinks in which is always a bonus. We had what I suppose one would call the ‘cheap seats’ to the right of the stage and towards the front but on the second level. These are not ‘normal’ seats and more akin to benches but since there were only two of us for what I can only assume were meant to be for four, it was alright. The view of the stage was good and I can only assume it’s even better if you are on the lower ground. The actors walk through the crowd so you really feel like you’re part of it all! Even though I did not see a Shakespeare play, the theatre would easily lend itself to any play of that era.

Ein tolles, kleines, schlichtes Theater. Wie alle in Stratford natürlich elisabethanisch. Haben hier eine Fantastische Aufführung erlebt. Sehr familiär, wenig Sitzreihen, absolute Nähe. Toll!

Built by the RSC in the 1980s within the shell of the conference/​rehearsal space of the original 1870s Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (written about in great depth by Marian J Pringle in her book The Theatres of Stratford-​upon-​Avon) is a theatre that has become a favourite place for both actors and audiences. Designed in the style of a very intimate Jacobean galleried theatre the function of the Swan has always been to stage new plays, or those by contemporaries of Shakespeare.
Below is a review of one of the most recent RSC productions The Orphan of Zhao
Gregory Doran’s latest
production, The Orphan of Zhao, is a simple piece of story-​telling
that proves, once more, that Doran is undoubtedly the finest theatre
director working today.
Paraded in the
programme as originally being written during the Chinese Yuan Dynasty
(established by Kubilai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, in the
13^th century) as something of a satirical stab against the
Mongol empire even though Kubilai ruled with a much more benevolent
hand than most of his Chinese predecessors this new adaptation by
James Fenton brings to the forefront the infighting that went on
between local Chinese political leaders, and their generals, who were
no doubt waiting with dread to see the Khan’s hordes appearing over
the horizon at any moment. In other words they were vying for
position whereby they might be handed power over city and region by
Kubilai’s generals. It seldom happened of course, with most power
going to relations of the Khan, who then married into local Chinese
ruling families.
So The Orphan of Zhao
is about fear, panic and greed (often portraying itself as honour),
which gives us an insight into how easy it was for Genghis Khan to
defeat the Chinese, and for his grandson to do so again some thirty
years later. It is also a less than flattering look at the China of
today where money (the units of the Chinese Renmimbi are still
significantly called the ‘Yuan’) have become all important, and
inevitably, it seems to me, self defeating.
But this wonderful play
is, most importantly, a deeply ironic, and often humorous piece about
the stupidity of many people, and the misplaced sense of loyalty to
an outdated hierarchical system, and how such loyalty can destroy
families and individuals, and through revenge, the future.
Designed and played in
a very stylised way, which, nonetheless, feels very real, and
extraordinarily violent when violence is required, The Orphan of Zhao
is a great platform for the actors who have to use every emotional
element within their acting bag to bring the characters to life, yet
at the same time pull back at the last moment to enable the irony to
take over from the growing sense of pathos. It’s a hard thing to do,
but they pull it off wonderfully, not least Graham Turner’s superbly
paced Dr Cheng Ying, whose gentle voice never really rises above a
warm stage whisper, but with every word and syllable clearly heard. A
hugely enjoyable and touching characterisation that is the visceral
threat running through this drama.
Likewise Patrick
Romer’s Gongsun Chujiu a retired politician who reminded me
of Robert Donat’s Mandarin in the 1958 film, The Inn of the Sixth
Happiness, whose kindliness was at the heart of that film, as is
Romer’s in this production, playing a man with soul and dignity, who
is, sadly misguided in his fidelity. A wonderfully underplayed
performance.
Philip Whitchurch’s
General Wei Jiang is a very strong character indeed, who is prepared
to stay, with his men, in the mountains watching for the approach of
the enemy than remain in the city, to become contaminated by the
ridiculous politics. Whitchurch creates a good general, a cross
between Auchinleck and Grant who, when his pride had been swallowed,
is the only real hope. I loved this actor’s performance.
As I did Jake
Fairbrother’s Cheng Bo, whose naïve strength and love of his father
was hugely touching, yet a love that seemed inevitably disconnected,
as did his own physicality, which floated an inch above the stage
creating a ghostly feel that was quite eerie at times. Superb acting
that touched just the right note.
It was good to see Lucy
Briggs-​Owen back with the RSC, whose Princess was a tour de force of
grief and loneliness that, nevertheless, used pathos only fleetingly,
leaving the audience to fill in the rest. Remarkably clever stuff.
What a good actress Lucy is.
Chris Lew Kum Hoi was
an almost constant presence on stage, with Siu Hun Li, creating some
wonderful sound effects as well as being superb puppeteers, working
and controlling Tu’an Gu’s huge ferocious dog, which pretty much
stole the show at the beginning. When Chris became the Ghost of the
Son, his stillness, calm and Christlike imagery was very moving
indeed.
Tu’an Gu is an amazing
character, a big powerful man who wants absolute power, and will do
pretty much anything to get it, not matter what the consequences.
He’s a character who needs a very powerful actor to