Review: The Winter’s Tale

The Winter’s Tale being one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, I arrived at the ADC last night entirely unsure of what to expect, but to my delight, what I ended up witnessing was two hours of largely picture-perfect acting, stellar set & costume design, and a plotline filled with intense drama, sweet romance, and laugh-out-loud comedy, all in equal measure.

Under the careful direction of Ilona Sell, the team’s adaptation of this classic tale aimed to reinvent the play’s fictional world of Bohemia by transforming it into a circus-themed piece, which worked wonders, adding a new twist and element of curiosity to the show, without ever once going overboard.

The circus… Image credits: Daniel Fry

Indeed, not only did the glorious costumes and makeup match this theme to perfection, but the circus-inspired music and transitions between the scenes (which made use of a small troupe of talented gymnasts and pointe dancers to entertain and inspire) were one of the most effective and delightful innovations I’ve ever seen on the ADC stage: not often can you say that the moments between main scenes truly captured your entire attention every time, but last night, the dancers and gymnasts had everybody’s eyes completely glued to the stage for the few minutes that they took to it.

Image credits: Daniel Fry

Elsewhere, the concept of the circus was perhaps a little absent from the plot itself: the King and Queen of Bohemia may well have been intended to be reinvented as a circus’ ringleader and his wife, but it wasn’t entirely evident, aside from through the vibrant costumes and set. However, adapting any Shakespeare play is a hard task, no matter whether it’s the immensely famous Macbeth or Romeo & Juliet, or the lesser known Winter’s Tale: to what extent can you attempt modernisation without offending traditionalist fans? Should you even bother changing it at all?

In my eyes at least, these questions became redundant last night, as the excellent team behind this version of The Winter’s Tale walked the line between too much and not enough with ease. Even more importantly, they tackled another ever-important question – how on earth do you begin performing Shakespeare’s original scripts without boring or losing a vast section of the audience who aren’t familiar with his plotlines? Well, this cast answered right back with some exceptional acting and emotionally convincing delivery, which at times had me so wrapped up in the drama that I forgot they were even speaking Shakespearean English at all.

Image credits: Daniel Fry

Liam Macmillan’s lead performance as the tyrannical king-slash-ringleader Leontes in the first half, and Coco Wheeler’s varied and ever-entertaining takes on three characters/entities – Autolycus, Time, and Mamillius – truly stole the show, but every member of the (very large) cast paid their dues and more last night: from India Lewis’ strong-willed Paulina all the way to Maria Telnikoff’s Jailer, the audience was entertained by each and everybody who set foot on the stage.

With that said, it’s a testament to both their fantastic acting and director Ilona Sell’s clear artistic vision that nothing went awry in the slightest last night. Student plays here in Cambridge often make use of a much smaller cast to avoid the risk of over-complication, and indeed it’s true that with such a huge cast as the one behind this Winter’s Tale, there lies a huge capacity for the audience to get lost in the grandeur of the show and the ever-changing set of faces and voices, and to lose track of who’s who and what’s even happening at all.

Image credits: Daniel Fry

Needless to say, that wasn’t remotely an issue last night, and I’m sure that it won’t be any other night this week, either. This version of The Winter’s Tale is a must-see: die-hard theatre-loving Shakespeare know-alls will love it without a doubt, and even those who’ve never even heard of The Winter’s Tale or never set foot in the ADC thus far ought not be put off by the fact that it’s a Shakespeare adaptation, for this is a deeply engaging and thoroughly enjoyable main show, the ideal piece of evening distraction for the beginnings of (my least favourite week of term) week 6. Grab your tickets now!

5/5

The Winter’s Tale is running at the ADC Theatre at 7.45pm from Tuesday 22nd until Saturday 26th February, and is recommended for audiences aged 12+. Tickets are available here.

Feature Image credits: Coco Wheeler