Mary Robinson so besotted the Prince of Wales (later George IV) with her performance as Perdita in The Winters Tale that he took her as a mistress. This powerfully performed play tells the story of her rise from humble origins to that position, to her equally dramatic fall into ill health and a paupers burial.
We actually begin by watching Mira Dovrenis excellent ill and aging Mary pissing in a bucket. From thence we are transported back in time to her early years in Bristol. From then proceedings tend to jump about rather in time scale and I found some of this confusing. All that can be forgiven, however, for the extraordinary skills the performers use to tell us the story. The ensemble is only five strong, but the stage fairly teems with characters, some of them played naturalistically, but others in fantastically choreographed caricatures. Director Mick Barnfather, a Theatre de Complicate alumni, brings much of that companys techniques and skills to this show. Theres a nice knowingness about proceedings too when one of the actresses joins a scene slightly late she says simply: Sorry, very quick costume change.
The costumes (by Sydney Florence) are spectacular, without being fussy, and the set design simple and ingenious. Robinsons career as a poet and proto-feminist are also explored and made me want to read her stuff.
All in all a pretty flawless show... except I couldnt see much of it. There comes a point when one gets sick of sitting in Edinburgh venues with severely restricted sight lines owning to poor rakes in the auditoria. Okay, we more sensitive critics tend to sit at the back to avoid distracting the actors and audience, but anyone in the room should be able to see. And this show, with its visual as well as aural pleasures, is one that deserves a far better space than this.
