The play was both a tragedy and a comedy. It had two settings; one was based in Sicilia and the other in Australia. The first half was very much so a tragedy because of all the awful issues Leontes family and friends had to deal with. Starting with the accusations at his friend and wife. This must have caused a lot of pressure for the whole family and friends, which resulted in the death of their son. Whereas in the second half the atmosphere was immediately lifted, the character, Clown; son of the shepherd, was a very dumb and unintelligent character, although through his behaviour and the way he spoke he made the audience laugh. I also thought the play was quite romantic due to the relationship between Perdita and Florizel. During the barn scene, they were caught trying to get a moment to themselves and even when the family was around even the smallest movement or touch, for example; playing with each others feet, made audience feel a sense of romance. Although I felt the strongest theme throughout the play was the tragedy, which continued throughout the whole play, from start to finish, whereas the Romance and Comedy only started in second part f the play.
The play covered a lot of issues. Throughout the play I felt a lot of anger, coming from Leontes character. This was portrayed throughout one of his dramatic monologues in which he expressed how he was feeling. I also felt a lot of anger from Paulina because of the situation her dear friend, Hermione was in, although she let her anger out by trying to persuade Leontes that the daughter of Hermione was his.
Another issue I felt arouse in the play was jealousy. Again coming from Leontes character. This was quite obvious at the beginning of the play when he accused his wife of having an affair with one of his closest friends. Other issues that were brought up in the play were; love, marriage, death and families. Death played quite a large part in play. Due to the situation in which Leontes family were in, it cause the death of two people, which could also have killed the character of Perdita. When people get married, there has to be trust between the two people. Somehow within Leontes and Hermione’s relationship that trust was lost which caused a breakdown within the marriage, but eventually was restored near the end of the play. The play also showed the beginning of a relationship, which was to later turn into a marriage. This was between Perdita and Florizel. It showed the build up of the romance and butterfly feeling effect you get when you see that person. Another main issue within the play was families. It showed that even after the worst possible mistakes people can make the closeness and the bond of a family is too strong to break. That even after accusing your wife of an affair, causing the death of your own son and demanding to abandon your own flesh and blood cannot stand in the way of the love that a family beholds.
I felt that I understood the basis of the play. Although the language was Shakespearean, I could basically understand the theme of the play. Watching the actors also helped me to understand the play because of their facial expressions and the tone of their voices. Before going into the theatre I read a short summary of what the play was about which helped me to grasp the idea behind the play.
The theatre was laid out as a traverse theatre which made the whole play much more intimate. It was as if the audience were part of the play and the characters even involved the audience when Autolycus gave a member of the audience one of his cards. I really liked this stage setting because the audience could also see everything that was happening, although I am sure the actors were feeling even more pressure being surrounded by the audience because it was so intimate! I thought this was a very effective way of using the theatre because it is so rarely used in this way. When the stage is set in the middle of the theatre the audience feel much more included and closer to the actors.
The stage was not lifted; it was just set on ground level. There was a little box like stage on the nearest side to the exit on which was a little stool and a projection stand. This was only used once throughout the play, when Leontes sat at it in distress thinking about the situation between his wife and friend. During the second part of the play in Australia, all of the items on it were replaced with hay. The projection was used to establish the location; on which images were projected. On the opposite side of the stage there was a similar box like object but with a curtain slung from the ceiling to the ground. This was used in the first section when the servant and Leontes son was sat on it. It was also used in the second part on which hay was also placed on it. I thought the props were used very effectively and helped to establish precisely where it was set. I also thought it added interest for the audience and something for the actors to use to portray the plays background.
During the scene where Hermione is on trial special lighting effects and smoke was used to portray dark night in the prison. A light was also flashed when there was a storm, which I thought worked perfectly against the sound effects of the lightning.
I thought all the actors performed brilliantly. All emotions were portrayed perfectly, with good use of costume. Hermione played her character very well due to the nature of the scene where she was on trial after giving birth, she didn’t seems embarrassed about having the blood stains and performed her character with great enthusiasm. After the performance I particularly remembered the character of the shepherds son, Clown, due to his comical acting and his accent. I thought all characters projected their voices well and I could hear everything said. I thought everyone of them stayed in character although at one point Perdita miss said one of her lines but carried on professionally as if it didn’t happen.
Overall I thought the performance was quite entertaining although the first half did seem to drag on a little bit. The whole performance was carried out professionally, which I was very impressed by. I really enjoyed the second half due to it comical nature and the insight into Perdita and Florizel’s romance. If I were to recommend it to a friend I would make sure that they knew what the story was about before going because the first section is quite confusing and if you don’t understand the first half then its quite unlikely that you would understand the second half. In conclusion I thought it was worth its money and a great play to go and see on a Friday night.
