For the opening night of the 28^th Summer Shakespeare the weather was perfect and the audience large, with many picnicking on the lawn in front of the Sound Shell.

This complex, poetic play, a four season comedy that nearly slides into tragedy, about time, the transient nature of human relationships and the redemptive power of love is given a robust, rough and ready production performed by a cast of enthusiastic young actors.

Subtlety in performance is nigh on impossible in this large open-air space, what with the occasional plane overhead and the traffic noise from Tinakori Road . One soon gets used to the traffic noise and it ceases to be a problem but the actors still have to project their voices despite the supposed aid of three microphones placed in front of the stage.

Too many resorted at times to shouting and shouting never helps. Microphones enhance the distortion of speech, often making women’s high voices screechy and deep male voices unintelligible. Towards the end of the production the revellers appeared behind the audience and spoke without either shouting or using microphones and they could be clearly heard from the front. Also some voices will be worn out before the season ends.

In a programme note Lori Leigh writes that her production takes its lead from Shakespeare and explores folklore and fairy tale and also the “here and now” of 2011 New Zealand. The “here and now” is mercifully not overdone. Jane Wenley’s costumes are modern with a hint of the traditional and Autolycus as he exits orders sotto voce a pizza (“Do you deliver to the Botanical Gardens?”), and the world’s most famous stage direction should for this production read ‘Exit, pursued by a cuddly bear’.

The comics are boisterously played with Theo Taylor as Autolycus zipping about the stage like a jack rabbit and singing like Mick Jagger while trundling about on a supermarket trolley. His stealing of most of the clown’s (Travis Graham) clothes is entertainingly done, while Laura Balmforth as the Old Shepherd distributes amongst some of the audience photocopies of an ad for a lost sheep.

Jonathan Price is an explosively jealous Leontes, while Amy Usherwood as Hermione is all gentleness, dignity, warmth and obviously  innocent of any deceit so that her trial is made into a shocking  tragic farce, particularly as she is forced to wear a sheet emblazoned with ‘whore’ and ‘slut’. Later she is a superb statue.

Sophie Hambleton is a fine Paulina, who stands up to Leontes with fire in her belly, and Paulina’s heartbreakingly sad lines at the end (“I, an old turtle”) are spoken with a shrugging stoicism, proving that subtlety is possible in such a large open space.
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Somewhat strangely, the refrain of this year’s Summer Shakespeare is “A sad tale’s best for winter”. But as director Lori Leigh points out, with its themes of redemption and renewal, The Winter’s Tale can make perfect Summer Shakespeare fare.  The play begins in Sicilia, where King Leontes and his wife Hermione have been hosting King Polixenes of Bohemia.  Polixenes wishes to return home, and is implored to stay by his hosts.  His wife’s skilful pleading ignites jealousy in Leontes and he becomes convinced that the child she carries has been fathered by his friend.  His jealous actions plunge the characters into varying states of being lost to themselves and each other.  So far so Days of Our Lives, albeit in the lush setting of the Botanical Gardens.

The play commences with some of the excellent ensemble work that is repeated throughout the production.  The first half definitely emphasises the tragedy element of the “tragic-comedy” play. The members of King Leonte’s Sicilian court display excellent commitment and rapidly propel the action forward.  The mood in the initial scenes was at times too overwrought, meaning that the real tragedy of the prophecies coming to pass on the jealous King was diminished by not being allowed to build over the course of the first two Acts.  Paulina’s (Sophie Hambleton) condemnation of how Hermione has been treated and her impassioned plea to Leontes to see sense is a highlight.  Amy Usherwood is also well cast as the beautiful, regal and unfairly victimised Hermione and Clare Wilson is charming as Mamillius.

The second half of the production is largely set in Bohemia, where the ‘comic’ characters of the Old Shepherd, the Clown and Autolycus dominate the first few scenes and bring plenty of laughs.  Their rascally and dull witted exploits provide a welcome relief from the sombre first half.  The playful flirting of Florizel, the King’s son masquerading as poor shearer Doricles, and Perdita plays out on the fringes of the preparations for a big party attended by all the rural “yocals”.  The unmasking of Florizel by his father and the condemnation of the young lover’s relationship propels the action back to Sicilia.  Once there the revelations come thick and fast.  Although it was nice to see more of the action played out around the Soundshell amphitheatre in the second half, it did mean that some of the major plot revelations or resolutions were lost as they couldn’t be heard.

Swift and smooth transitions from scene to scene are aided by the clean and simple design.  A change in cloth backdrop is used to signify the change from Sicilia to Bohemia and props are kept to a minimum.  The costumes designed by Jane Wenley are also particularly effective at conveying changes in place, character and indicating social rank.  The sombre colour scheme of the Sicilian court contrasts nicely to the more rustic colours used for the Bohemian landscape.  Sound levels were an issue on opening night, but hopefully it’s something that will smooth out over the course of the season.

Overall, this is an energetic and enjoyable production of The Winter’s Tale which manages to capture the tragic, the comedic and the fantastical.  It’s great to see a large cast with mixed abilities work together so tightly.  The audience seemed genuinely moved by the mysterious ending, which is left nicely ambiguous. Most of the challenges of performing outdoors are met – I’d advise taking a cushion and some snacks as it runs over 2 and a half hours!
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Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer