Theatre review: Measure for Measure(RSC / RST, Barbican & tour)

The current RST season has so far been OK without coming close to blowing me away, and it now limps to an end with Measure for Measure. A Problem Play - so much so that it fits into the narrow original definition of the term that only encompassed three plays - it's admittedly not one I find it easy to like, unless approached with a kind of originality and flair that Gregory Doran's production doesn't have to offer. Vienna - in Stephen Brimson Lewis' design an early 20th century version, the Vienna of the waltzes - has always had prohibitively strict morality laws that have been hard to enforce (because, as the play acknowledges, it would entail expecting people not to behave like people.) The current Duke (Antony Byrne) has been particularly lax in enforcing the law, and the city has become a haven for extramarital sex, whether for fun or profit. The Duke regrets this but after all this time thinks it would be hard for him to enforce it again himself so, pretending to leave the city, he leaves his deputy Angelo (Sandy Grierson) in charge, while staying in Vienna in disguise to see what happens.

As expected, the puritanical Angelo is quick to shut down all the brothels but also decides to pursue the letter of the law when Claudio (James Cooney,) whose marriage has been delayed, gets his fiancée pregnant.

The penalty is death, unless Claudio's sister Isabella (Lucy Phelps) can convince Angelo otherwise. A novice days away from taking holy orders, her petition has an effect on the deputy, but not the intended one: The idea of corrupting her purity turns him on, and he demands her virginity in return for her brother's life. Measure for Measure can be a powerfully cynical take on hypocrisy and one of Shakespeare's darkest plays but Doran's take on it struggles to come to life, especially in the first three acts.

A couple of interesting ideas - a transvestite Mistress Overdone (Graeme Brookes,) Angelo signalling that he's loosening his own strict morality by removing a bloody cilice from his thigh - are in the minority in a production that largely plonks the actors onto the stage and lets them get on with it. Even Paul Englishby's music very rarely breaks in to add atmosphere. It's presumably meant to create tension by stripping things down to the various confrontations, and who knows, on a different day it might have had me gripped; today it struggled to keep me awake.

Of course what landed the play in the original trio of Problem Plays is the fact that in the middle of all this darkness and corruption it tries to crowbar in a broad comedy subplot about the pimps and madams put out of work by the purge on sex workers. I'm struggling to remember if I've ever seen a production where that whole section hasn't died on its arse, and although one deathly scene of unfunny malapropisms does remain, Doran has largely minimised this subplot as much as possible, and David Ajao does his best to keep Pompey's scenes lively.

Doran took over the RSC with the stated aim of moving away from Michael Boyd's ensemble-led programming to something with a bit more star power - whether that be importing big names or trying to create the next big thing by nurturing talent. Ironically the latter part of that approach means a new regular RSC ensemble has emerged over the years anyway, and maybe one reason I can't get too excited about this year's season is that it seems to be largely built around regular faces I just don't find that exciting to watch. There are good performances here - Joseph Arkley's take on Lucio is memorably spivvy, and Cooney makes the most of the one scene where he's actually got anything to do, to make us sympathise with Claudio's desperate plea to stay alive even if it means his sister's shame. But while Phelps has some powerful moments, her central trio with Byrne and Grierson lacks chemistry, in a production that seems to be relying entirely on it for any sparks to fly.

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare is booking in repertory until the 29th of August at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; then continuing on tour to Salford, London, Canterbury, Plymouth, Nottingham, Newcastle and Blackpool.

Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes including interval.

Photo credit: Helen Maybanks.