A square drawn in blood on the floor of the stage made for a visually interesting opening to one of William Shakespeare’s tragedies. The ensemble of actors lined up at the front of the thrust stage in a menacing and intimidating manner, setting the tone for dramatic proceedings.
“Coriolanus” is not often performed or even that well known. For this 2014 production, the play text had been withdrawn from the archives and given a page-to-stage transformation. It has re-surfaced again thanks to NT Live At Home. From the sofa in our living rooms, we were sent back in time to the emergence of the republic of Rome. There was blood, politics, gore, debating, and battles. This was an examination of democracy and how society wished to govern themselves.
Caius Martius, later honourably re-named Coriolanus, was a courageous warrior, albeit, a hesitant leader. His determined mother made every effort to forge him a path to political power – she would eventually discern the error of her ways. However, Coriolanus struggled to transform his personality and comportment to meet the requirements of leadership. The new city state was facing poverty and graffiti-ridden streets; the gap between rich and poor was rapidly expanding on a daily basis. Sooner rather than later, it was clear Coriolanus had to choose who he really was and where his loyalties were placed. How do men deal with identity in times of crisis? When a past foe threatened Rome, the populace of the city pleaded once more to Coriolanus – hailed as her hero and guardian. The problem was he had enemies at home too. Not only were the people of Rome hungry due to penury and famine, but they were craving social and political change. When Coriolanus returned from the battlefield, he was confronted with irate citizens and political manipulation favouring practicality over morality and compassion.
Tom Hiddleston, (who you might have seen in “The Avengers”), played the title role with charisma and fortitude. There was play and spontaneity between Hiddleston and Deborah Findlay as the mother, Volumnia – keeping it all fresh and alive. Her emotional outpouring to her son in the second half seized your attention and was a contrast from the more violent and gory first-half. Mark Gatiss, who I’ve seen in “Sherlock”, played Coriolanus’ friend, Menenius. He was the ideal choice to portray someone with a clever tongue, using his wit to avoid conflict. Elliot Levey’s characterisation of Brutus was rather confusing. He was meant to be a clever politician who regards Coriolanus as a significant danger to the class he represents and worked hard to keep him out of power. Instead, Levey’s Brutus gave the subtle impression of being more like a harmless clown or joker – particularly in the first half. In one scene, there was an attempt to escape the awkwardness of a confrontation with some humour from Brutus, but it didn’t work.
Designer, Lucy Osbourne, coincidentally or not, highlighted Coriolanus’ metaphor of “chairs of justice” with many wooden chairs on stage, symbolic of authority and dignity. The chairs were playfully used to represent various locations in the play. I don’t recall the ladder being used at any point, so I’m not sure why it was part of the set design. I loved the recurring visual motif of blood: using stage blood, thrown tomatoes, and falling rose petals. For the most part, Andrzej Goulding’s video projections complimented the design nicely with important lines or words graffitied onto the wall, but at one point the graphics looked like something from “The Matrix”. Overall, the design looked and felt like a boxing ring. A political arena to fight with words and fists… and of course swords. I thought the transitional music could have been better because it was random in style and in the mood it was trying to capture.
All things considered, it was still a worthy production of “Coriolanus” from Donmar Warehouse. The actors brought their A-Game to this theatrical boxing ring of political war, verbal combat, and actual fighting. I can see why this Shakespeare play will always be relevant.
Reviewer - Sam Lowe
on - 4/6/20
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