It has become traditional for the third presentation in any Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre season in Chester to be the ‘fun’ one after the ‘serious’ Shakespearean opener and the prestigious children’s literary adaptation.
If one stretches a point to label As You Like It as ‘serious’, the 2016 line-up has followed that pattern and has done so with extraordinary success so why change a winning formula?
By the conclusion of this exuberant, hilarious, musical and riotous production of what is generally regarded as Shakespeare’s first ever play, you are likely to wonder why Two Gentlemen of Verona is so seldom performed especially when witnessing the overwhelming enthusiasm with which Sunday afternoon’s audience applauded, cheered and stood at the end to show their appreciation of a truly exhilarating piece of entertainment.
Perhaps its rarity is due to the fact the Bard was doing a dry run on various themes which came to dominate many of the more celebrated works in the canon such as inconstant love, women dressing up as men, banishment, exasperated fathers trying to marry off wilful daughters - the list goes on - there’s even a balcony scene!
Artistic director Alex Clifton - who was at the helm for this show - demonstrated typical inspiration by pairing this with As You Like It for the season as the two compare and contrast in so many fascinating ways.
Two Gentlemen may lack the enduring characters and quotability of that more famous work but it did provide the director with a treasure trove of opportunities to show how skilfully he can exploit the ridiculous, the farcical and the absurd - something which gets off to a flier with the description of Verona itself as ‘a small English seaside town’!
One thing is for sure - do not worry about the plot! There are two couples at the heart of it and in brief you have Proteus (Harry Livingstone) in love with Julia (Pippa Moss) until he travels to Milan and sets eyes on Silvia (Hatty Preston) whose true love is Valentine (Robert Willoughby) who happens to be Proteus’ best friend!
But you would be best advised to just revel in the glory of how this is used as the platform for a series of beautifully directed set pieces that make the most of every inch of the performing space including the audience itself (one envies the male spectator who was fortunate enough to have actress Rose O’Loughlin fall asleep on his shoulder for one scene!).
There is a strong temptation to grab a dictionary of hyperbolic adjectives and set out to individually praise each and every cast member because they deserve it but I confess I did have a few particular favourites led by Hatty Preston as the reluctantly popular Silvia whose verbal thrusts were delivered with rapier-like effectiveness.
The sheer energy of the production was best personified by the electrifying Danielle Henry as the appropriately named Speed who is often used and abused by both Proteus and Valentine and gets to deliver one of the best insults not just in Shakespeare but in all literature: “I would challenge you to a battle of wits but I see you are unarmed”.
My own vote for Man of the Series would undoubtedly go to John Seaward who has won hearts and minds in every one of this year’s offerings as Stig in Stig of the Dump, Jaques in As You Like It and completes the hat-trick as Eglamour the scout leader who may not appear for long but whose every line and movement provokes a laugh.
It would also be remiss of me not to mention the scene-stealing performance of Ruby as Crab, the canine best friend of multi-talented Launce as played by Johnson Willis who was happy to be upstaged by his four-legged co-star.
I’ve mentioned music and its use here is as innovative as one has come to expect with a band of singing waiters/outlaws cropping up regularly with a repertoire that is surprisingly 20th or even 21st century featuring Italian spins on the likes of Ed Sheeran helped by lusty lead vocals from Fred Lancaster as the cool but love-lorn Tulio and climaxing with a rendition of Road to Nowhere that had pretty much everyone in the auditiorium clapping along.
Having now enjoyed all three of this year’s shows, I cannot sign off without heaping praise on the unsung heroes and heroines of the season - the front of house staff. I have seen them hand out endless cups of water and suncream during heatwaves and brollies during rain storms, I even saw one young lady give up her blanket on what was a chillier day on Sunday to keep an audience member warm.
They are almost supernaturally attentive, always friendly and smiling and they are every bit as crucial to the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre experience as the actors, directors and crew.
Tickets for Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre - which runs until August 21 - are on sale now. Go to www.grosvenorparkopenairtheatre.co.uk to find out more.
