"Troilus and Cressida", based on the Greek legend of lovers Troilus and Cressyd, is not one of Shakespeare's best plays. The dialogue is too knotty, with a lot of characters making big speeches about very little and the best characters in the play are woefully underused.
I liked this version, as it showcases the best qualities of the play including the character of Pandarus (Charles Gray), who tries to help the lovers Troilus (Anton Lesser) and Cressida (Suzanne Burden) in the midst of the Trojan war. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's other famous tragic couple, these two are actually on the same side but their union is jeopardised when Cressida is bargained away by her father in exchange for a prisoner...
Asides from Gray, who gives a wonderfully camp turn as Pandarus, the brilliant Jack Birkett (aka the Great Orlando) gives a brilliant turn as Greek fool Thersites, his Mancunian twang making the most of the language. The two lovers when they get a look in are very well written and played, but their story is too overshadowed by the tedious political chicanery going in the rest of the play.
Worth checking out, especially after the recent Shakespeare's Globe production.
I liked this version, as it showcases the best qualities of the play including the character of Pandarus (Charles Gray), who tries to help the lovers Troilus (Anton Lesser) and Cressida (Suzanne Burden) in the midst of the Trojan war. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's other famous tragic couple, these two are actually on the same side but their union is jeopardised when Cressida is bargained away by her father in exchange for a prisoner...
Asides from Gray, who gives a wonderfully camp turn as Pandarus, the brilliant Jack Birkett (aka the Great Orlando) gives a brilliant turn as Greek fool Thersites, his Mancunian twang making the most of the language. The two lovers when they get a look in are very well written and played, but their story is too overshadowed by the tedious political chicanery going in the rest of the play.
Worth checking out, especially after the recent Shakespeare's Globe production.