23 May 2012

Chiten's Coriolanus at the Globe

At least three staff and two trustees of the Foundation went to see the Chiten “Coriolanus”, on at the Globe as part of the Globe to Globe international Shakespeare Festival. Opinions have been mixed. Here’s mine:

The Chiten production was, as promised, minimalist, with only five actors and a handful of props. Given that the play is largely about Coriolanus’s relationship to the common people of Rome, the production seemed to be driven by the “bread and circuses”, with which the Roman mob was traditionally kept happy. Baguettes were key props throughout, doubling as both swords and sustenance, and this makes perfect sense, given that a corn shortage is the original reason for popular discontent at the start of the play. But I was less comfortable with the “circus” aspect. The cast often appeared to be playing it for laughs, and for me, this undermined the power of the tragedy. While Shakespeare divides the characters into pro- and anti-Coriolanus camps, the Chiten version had the feeling of a bullfight, in which everyone else on the stage, even his own family, appeared to be goading Coriolanus towards his death.

The acting was heavily stylised and contained some strongly Japanese elements, not all of which worked. Coriolanus performed large chunks with a basket over his head (Ali points out that technically this was a tengai), presumably intended to symbolise his military helmet, but maybe also emphasising his lack of rapport with the common people – us, the audience. This distance also seemed to be symbolised by the fact that when he was being insincere with the mob, he spoke in a deliberately foreign accent – perhaps a risky ploy with so many non-Japanese in the audience.

It was a bravura performance by the actor playing Coriolanus himself. The key speech near the end in which his mother convinces him to drop his assault on Rome was also powerful, despite, or perhaps because of, the bizarre sing-song tone she used in places. But overall the show was a bit of a curate’s egg. It’ll be interesting to see how it compares with the forthcoming Ninagawa Cymbeline at the Barbican.