The story of Helena and her faithless husband, Bertram, has puzzled theatregoers for centuries. Its unexpected happy ending seems to jar with the rest of the play and, although this production uses an adapted script, the final ambiguity remains.
Rewriting Shakespeare is often a risky business that leaves an uncomfortable mixture of modern phrases and old-fashioned words. This adaptation has that exact problem: scenes that are rich in the original now feel flat and have little substance. This is Shakespeare with a lot of the Shakespeare removed, and most of the new dialogue is about as palatable as sawdust.
A part of the play that works is the interrogation scene where Parolles is tricked into betraying his cowardice. The soldiers speak gobbledygook so as to not give themselves away as the French army, using phrases such as ‘Isadora Duncan’ and ‘ET phone home’. This has comic effect, whereas some of the other elements in the play are meant to be funny without pulling it off.
Year Out Drama Company is a full-time training course for aspiring actors and the young actors in this production have a lot of potential. Rosie Pankhurst, who plays Helen, stands out with her mature performance that is focused and credible. In some scenes there is some pointless walking to and fro, but the singing is well done; on the whole the company does not put on a poor performance. However, it is a pity that this watered-down script simply isn’t as entertaining as the original.
