Reviews: War and Peace - Part 1 |
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What the critics say (25-Apr-08)
Let’s not be distracted by the scale and ambition … Yes, the show… will attract superlatives for its size - but what matters most is that it captures the life-loving spirit of Tolstoy.
Between them writer Helen Edmundson and directors Nancy Meckler and Polly Teale have created a beautiful, vibrant, crystal-clear adaptation: one that should be admired by all who love the book; one that may persuade the curious to open it.
… At the core of the production (enhanced by atmospheric lighting and sound from Chris Davey and Peter Salem) is a deep and moving friendship: Barnaby Kay seems to jump from Tolstoy’s text as the liberal, trusting and indulgent Pierre while the elegant David Sturzaker is perfect as the conservative, cynical, disciplined Andrei Bolkonsky. Natasha and Nikolai Rostov (Louise Ford, Jonathan Woolf) grow up before our eyes. We get equally skilful turns from Vinette Robinson and Hywel Morgan as the lusty Kuragin siblings, plus a could-have-fooled-me double from Geoffrey Beevers as the avuncular Rostov pere and a war-weary Kutuzov.
… an inspirational piece of theatre.
Jeremy Lewis, Nottingham Evening Post
* * * * * * * * * * * * * …the show that shouldn’t stand a chance…
But what a remarkable, unmissable achievement this is. … so fluid and fresh it can only reinvigorate your appreciation of the book.
… Shared Experience’s triumphant take on Tolstoy confirms that, as much as the book is about war and peace, it’s also about women and men.
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
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… a great deal to enjoy …
… the Shared Experience style … has a miraculous ability to articulate the unspoken and animate the psychological.
... the show brings the main characters eerily to life, right from the first moments in the modern-day Hermitage when they step like ghosts out of the shadows and join in the dance to the music of time. It is not hard to fall in love with the characters…
… I found myself swept up again by Tolstoy’s glorious humanity, Edmundson’s unflinching tragic vision and directors Nancy Meckler and Polly Teale, who create stage pictures that melt into each other like snowflakes. There is a scene when the ruined Natasha sings, Ophelia-like, in a landscape devastated by war; the personal and the political fuse perfectly. It is moments like that which make the entire six hours worthwhile.
Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
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… It’s a richly woven tapestry of intimate moments and big ideas, staged in a ballroom lined with tarnished mirrors.
Tolstoy’s book may be among the more intimidating items in world literature, but Edmundson shows it’s also a rattling good soap opera at heart; a tangled tale of love, friendship and the eternal human search for meaning.
Wayne Burrows, Metro
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Seven hours that shake the stage
… The visuals are atmospheric …
… Barnaby Kay shows assiduous stamina as Pierre … Louise Ford, less than a year out of Rada, meets the challenge of Natash gaining years and bitter experience; agreeable character turns are provided by the chirping Geoffrey Beevers and the rumbling Jeffery Kissoon.
Shared Experience … purveyors of excellence in novel adaptations … a blend of textual attention and ensemble performance that periodically takes flight beyond naturalism …
Ian Shuttleworth, Financial Times
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Polly Teale and Nancy Meckler’s production has momentum, and … a vibrant, involving immediacy.
…Angela Simpson’s set of tarnished gilt mirrors and picture frames implies fragility and decay…
Sensuality is flavoursomely expressed in choreographic fantasy …
Barnaby Kay’s Pierre suggests steel beneath his bumbling manner, and David Sturzaker’s nihilistic Andrei has a cruelty and intelligence that make him wince as he wounds. Louise Ford’s Natasha develops touchingly from mischievous child to womanhood. And Jeffery Kissoon is a bitter delight as the elderly Prince Bolkonnsky, baiting and humiliating his love-starved daughter Maria (a poignant Katie Wimpenny). When, from the restless ebb and flow of emotion and action, a sense of their search for life’s meaning emerges, the production shines.
Sam Marlowe, The Times
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Tolkien used to joke that the only thing wrong with his 1,400-page The Lord of the Rings was that it wasn’t nearly long enough. The same could be said of Shared Experience’s magnificent production of War and Peace, which opened a national tour at the Nottingham Playhouse. Tolstoy’s novel is brilliantly adapted by Helen Edmundson into just six hours, but by the end you could have happily enjoyed more.
The central performances are immaculate, with Barnaby Kay as the enthusisastic, myopic, idealistic Pierre, David Sturzaker almost his mirror opposite as the cynical, handsome Prince Andrei , and Louise Ford outstanding as the vivacious and enchanting Natasha, one of literature’s most lovable heroines. Along with the duels, battles, balls, wolf hunts, love scenes, birth scenes and death scenes, a production on this scale can comfortably accommodate those rambling Russian conversations about goodness, the soul, politics, death and God. Okay, so it’s based on quite a good original novel, but this is triumphant theatre.
Christopher Hart, The Sunday Times
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It takes determination to tackle War and Peace in six hours – determination, stamina and nerve. So there was tension as well as excitement among the audience before Shared Experience’s production in Nottingham. Committing to watching both parts of Helen Edmundson’s adaptation of Tolstoy’s novel on the same day means that a well-uphostered seat is essential. Fortunately, Nottingham Playhouse, last year voted the UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre, is up to the task.
… Katie Wimpenny’s outstanding performance as Maria, all repression and pent-up emotion, deserves special mention, but this is truly a team production ... The actors jump easily from character to character, and their movement around the stage is exactly choreographed …
… While never losing the scale of the novel, Edmundson’s script allows us to become involved with the stories of individuals against a background of vast events. It is a script of humour and power, and has contemporary relevance – a story of families caught up in a protracted, futile war, and the tale of a man with ambitions to become President of Europe.
Robert Lee, "You Write the Reviews", The Independent
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Fifteen actors play 72 parts, with minimal scenery, and I’ve rarely seen a production where the doubling is achieved so convincingly. Among the leads, Barnaby Kay, as Pierre, myopic, nervous tics to the fore, grows fro riotous drunkard to chastened philosopher by fascinating steps. It’s a remarkable performance, and he put me in mind of the young Kenneth Branagh. Louise Ford, as Natasha, makes a similarly compelling jourey from ingénue to knowing woman. Jeffery Kissoon, meanwhile, as Bolkonsky, wins all the comic chips for his unashamed portrayal of a selfish, bullying old patriarch.
… Pierre’s fantasy scenes played out with Napoleon (Richard Attlee) are both funny and philosophically revealing, and there’s a wonderful pastiche operatic interlude cooked up to mock Natasha’s naff romanticism when she falls for a rake at the theatre.
… the production is a journey, and the further you get into it the more you want to find out what’s waiting at the end.
Tim Auld, Sunday Telegraph
Critic’s Circle Reviews (Silver) (12-Feb-08) [ Young Critics' Circle Review ]
These are reviews from our Silver Critics’ Circle- from Secondary School Year 12 and 13 pupils.
Mark Benton 7th February 08
War and Peace
With the start of a new year Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company have collaborated with the highly acclaimed Shared Experience company to produce a truly inspiring version of Tolstoy’s famous tale of Russia amidst the Napoleonic Wars; ‘War and Peace’. Co-directed by Nancy Meckler and Polly Teale, this saga (spanning a 15 year period in Russian history, and subsequently being split into two separate plays) concentrates on the political and social crisis of the early 19th century – with particular reference to the effects of these on the aristocracy.
What is so excellent about this production is that, despite its length, it completely engages the audience throughout. This is a testament to the superb direction and very strong performances and is achieved through many different techniques. In my opinion the paramount aspect of this engagement is the driving rhythm with which the play is performed. The palatial soundtrack and tragic choral singing adds to this. And it is further enforced by the small quick scenes which overlap to give the illusion of time passing by quickly.
In fact, the play as a whole is extremely expressionistic. The use of sound as a reflection of the character’s inner thoughts and mental states is very effective; as through, for example, the open, calm wind sounds the fill the stage towards the end of Andrei’s life, the audience is given a sense of personal involvement, as they are aware (through experience rather than observation) that the young man’s life is at a close.
The lighting, too, adds to these visual realisations of character moods. The majority of the play is backlit; casting shadows on the stage that – together with the candlelight and fog – creates a feeling of desperation and an eerie sense of decay. This emphasis on atmosphere by the production team gives the play an emotional force that enthrals the audience. Even the set is designed to aid this; with 3 "portals" made out of a reflective, frosted marble, the stage has an aristocratic sense, but more importantly – with there being a minimal amount of props and the reflective surfaces giving the illusion that it is much bigger – a bleakness that is unavoidable and almost toxic.
Using every single aspect of production to work to a specific end is, without a doubt, this pieces greatest strength. And, in my opinion, the use of props is the best example of this. There is an emphasis throughout on physical theatre, and as such, all props serve several purposes; such as chairs being used during the compelling battle scenes (which, undoubtedly makes the staging of such an event much easier). More interestingly, however, are the use of picture frames on stage as windows and doors. In a literal sense, this allows for creation of split scenes on the same stage as actors interact with them. But, more significant, they are also used as a metaphorical window into the characters’ souls, giving the audience vital insights into the characters’ hearts. These are only a few of the techniques used within this superb production, and to truly appreciate the magnitude of the play, and al the different aspects that have seamlessly been moulded together it must be seen first hand.
Review of ‘War and Peace’ 7th February 2008:
Even if you haven’t braved the epic novel, you’ll have probably heard of Tolstoy’s greatest work, ‘War and Peace.’ You’ll be relieved to hear then, that the version performed through a collaboration of Nottingham Playhouse and Shared Experience, despite being 5 hours long (if you wish to see both parts) is a joy to watch.
I have to admit I really enjoyed the book, but I agree it isn’t for everyone. But at the heart of it are some beautiful characters and this is the focus of Shared Experience’s piece.
Combining physical theatre, modern interpretations of the characters and some really nice work with picture frames (one of the main pieces of a fairly simplistic set), this production brings the grandeur of a Russian ballroom into the 21st century.
Starting in a museum in modern day Russia, we are taken back to the time when greats such as Napoleon walked the earth, and aristocracy was the place to be. Following no less than 5 different families throughout the years between 1805 – 1815, War and Peace focuses on love, family relationships, freedom, destiny, pride and greatness through very ‘real characters.’
One of the families involved are the Rostova’s: made up of the rich Count and Countess, their beautiful and lively daughter Natasha, their ambitious sons Nikolai and Petya and their adopted daughter Sonya. Another important character is Pierre, an illegitimate son who finds it hard to find a purpose in life after he inherits a lot of money. Another family is the Bolkonsky family, secluded and sheltered in the countryside by the eccentric but respected Prince Bolkonsky. Other characters include the irresistible Anatole Kuragin, gossiping Anna Pavlovna and the old and wise Commander Kutuzov. There are so many really great characters that it is hard to do justice to all of them. I recommend reading the book or at least a detailed plot summary to get a real feel for the play, even though you can grasp a lot without.
However this adaptation is captivating in itself: by splitting the book up into lots of very small scenes, connected effortlessly by similar themes and feelings, it is easy to follow and pick up, as each character is distinctive enough to recognise every time they appear. It has definite pace and rhythm, as well as being very visual, which just makes it easier to understand. A set made entirely out of old mirrors, and period costumes created atmosphere and really made 1805 come to life on stage.
It goes without saying that not everything from the book could be included; Tolstoy writes pages and pages about the positions and details of each battle, as well as many philosophical parts about freedom and power, but I truly think that this version captured the essence of what War and Peace is all about.
Overall, I enjoyed it even more than I expected to, as some parts needed real people as the characters to bring out all the humour and emotions from the characters. A classic read and a truly fantastic production.
By Rachel Knott (Heanor Gate Science College)
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