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Review by Paul Nelson
IN A frantically paced production, The Fair Maid of the West
makes a madcap dash through Thomas Heywood's plays, giving the
impression that it is being given by The Reduced Shakespeare Company.
It might well be called The Works of Thomas Heywood (Abridged),
well, Fair Maid Parts 1 and 2 at least.
Directed by Andrew Goldberg, who was responsible for the hilarious
rap version of The Comedy
of Errors - The Bomb-itty of Errors, the evening hardly pauses
for breath and dives headlong into a morass of plot and characters
which, thanks to the Chorus (James Beamish) is at all times crystal
clear.
It is a rattling good tale and is well told, but due probably
to the actual speed of the passage of the play, one does not get
to caring for any of the characters, which is the only fault I
can find in what otherwise turns out to be a novel evening in
the theatre.
The preposterous plot is such that the cast have a whale of a
time playing a myriad of characters, and out of the general melee
there comes a number of performances that are really gold-plated.
Other than the aforementioned Mr Beamish, who also creates a
genuinely likeable character as Clem, also outstanding are Richard
Stacey, as Roughman, Pascale Langdale, as Spencer, and Tim Stanmore
as Goodlack.
Staring a gift horse in the mouth is Preeya Kalidas, whose lacklustre
performance as Bess Bridges, the fair maid of the title, is incomprehensible.
She does, however, make a dashing swordsman and if that fire
had been allowed to kindle the rest of her performance we might
have seen a much brighter evening.
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The set is a palatable affair with half curtains both hiding
and revealing relevant parts of the world the play inhabits, and
the transitions from scene to scene are smoothly executed.
All in all, it is an evening to remember and well worth the trek
(for me at least) to Holloway to witness it.
I believe I have mentioned before that the Pleasance Theatre,
one of the best-appointed fringe theatres in our city really is
the home of the ill-mannered oaf.
At the press night, audience members were still arriving 30 minutes
after the play had started with a record 55 minutes for a pair
who could not have made head nor tail of the plot at that late
hour.
Why the theatre staff allow this to happen, thus destroying
any atmosphere the cast have striven for, is incomprehensible
to me.
I suppose it would be less noticeable if one sat on the front
row, but, alas, that position cannot accommodate everyone. It
is a serious fault to which the management must pay attention.
The Fair Maid of the West or A Girl Worth Gold by Thomas Heywood,
Adaptation and additional material by John Waters, Directed by
Andrew Goldberg, Designer Simon Scullion, Costume Designer Vanessa
Frank, Lighting Designer Natasha Chivers, Sound Designer Nathaniel
Reed, Fight Director Philip d'Orleans. WITH: Jamie Beamish (Chorus,
Clem, Mayor, Messenger, Headsman), Craig S. Cremin (Carrol, Sailor,
Spanish Captain, Alcade), Richard Stacey (Roughman, Captain),
Tim Stanmore (Goodlack, Bandit), Pascal Langdale (Spencer, Bandit
Chief), Diannah Daly (Drawer, Sister of Mercy, Mayor's Wife, Spanish
Prisoner, Kitchen Maid, Bandit, Tota), Preeya Kalidas (Bess),
Daniel Hope (Captain 2, Merchant Captain, Bandit, King Mullisleg).
Presented by Comyns Carr Ltd at The Pleasance Theatre, Carpenters
Mews, North Road, London N7. Tickets 020 7609 1800.
Photograph kindly supplied by Andy Bradshaw.
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