Three actors with many faces and a handful of props with many uses bring Shakespeare’s sprawling sea epic Pericles, Prince of Tyre to life wonderfully, writes Andrew Hodgson
Walking into Greenwich Playhouse is as if stumbling into a maritime painting; as the Blotto Theatre group sit polishing boots, sewing or plucking the strings of a ukulele.
As the audience members take their seats, the cast continue their chores.
Strewn around them are relics, purported by their advert as ‘begged, stolen, or borrowed’ which I can believe; there’s an old tin wash basin; canvas; tankards and other such trinkets.
There is time to take in their dress – which has an air of timeless nostalgia - and their bleak make-up; lots of pallid white cheeks and darkened eyes.
And, as the last person sits down the door is shut and the cast of three jump to life.
What unfolds is something of a surprise - enacted to a wonderful degree, the trinket props help create scenes as numerous as they are far and wide, spanning the realm of Ancient Greece.
(What unfolds is something of a surprise, promised but enacted to a wonderful degree - these trinket props become scenes as numerous as they are far and wide, spanning the realm of Ancient Greece. ) The cast of three become two dozen with the tuck of a shirt, the turning of a cap or a tickling outlandish accent.
Ben Hadley as Pericles guides the audience through his odyssey with great vigour, switching the spirit of the scene with a turn of his mouth.
We’re taken through the incestuous court of Antioch (an illusion created through an inventive use of the ever-evolving props; the sewing of the start becomes the king’s robes, the wash basin mustering his stature) and the trials and tribulations of Pericles’ self-exile, of which much is spent on the rough seas in his tin basin for a ship.
The mounting tragedy, suspense and ensuing relief is played wonderfully, with comedic portrayals - enacted by Philippa Palmer who toys with Shakespeare’s jibes with great fluidity and humour - leaving the audience gasping for breath.
Coupled with the presence of Alex Topham Tyerman - who plays Pericles’ various female endeavours and, with a Russian accent and tip down of the cap, his assassin - the production becomes effortlessly flawless. Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a play of disputed pen – it’s often overlooked that only parts are attributed to Shakespeare - however in the wake of several popular productions we are brought this delightful rendition.
Dexterously tongue-in-cheek, its innovation draws you into the story of Pericles through Renaissance verse and archaisms to a play full of energy and entertainment.
Blotto Theatre’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre plays at Greenwich Playhouse, Station Forecourt Greenwich until March 22. £12/£10. Box office 020 8858 9256.
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