By Deanna Dement Myers
ArtsEmerson welcomes Cheek by Jowl (UK) and The Pushkin Theatre Moscow (Russia) with Measure for Measure. This production by the international award-winning Director Declan Donnellan and Designer Nick Ormerod asks vital and unsettling questions about how we are governed and, in the process, unmasks the true nature of authority, love and justice. The creative team includes Assistant Director Kirill Sbitnev, Lighting Designer Sergey Skornetskiy, Composer Pavel Akimkin, and Choreographer Irina Kashuba. The limited run of only six performances takes place October 24 through 28, 2018 at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre. Tickets may be purchased at www.ArtsEmerson.org.
“The tempter or the tempted, who sins the most?”
Power and purity are explored in this production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Performed entirely in Russian on a stage bare except for four, enormous, red cubes, this modern interpretation has a stark beauty and a fluid physical presentation that transcends the need to understand the language. Government corruption and licentious behavior is easily understood without the overhead captioning. The entire cast is present during most scenes, gliding at times like a school of fish, at another as a phalanx, with characters and set pieces peeling off and rejoining the array as the scene requires. Part dance and part stagehands, the non-speaking cast members offer commentary and witness, much like a Greek chorus.
To recap: Vienna’s Duke Vincentio informs his people he is going on a diplomatic mission and instead goes underground in the city to observe how his deputy, Angelo, rules in his stead. Angelo holds a conservative interpretation of the law, and cracks down on brothels and fornication. Claudio is caught in this sweep, as he has impregnated his fiance, Juliet, and is to be put to death. His sister, Isabella, a novitiate, goes before Angelo to plead for Claudio’s life. Angelo attempts to bargain Isabella’s virginity for Claudio’s freedom.
Several scenes are made uncomfortable due to the parallels between our current political climate and those of a play written in 1603/4. When Isabella threatens to make public her near-rape by Angelo, he feels confident that no one will believe her because his reputation as a judge is beyond reproach. Donnellan’s production is several years old and therefore a clairvoyant coincidence rather than contemporary comment on recent accusations.
Different types of power plays are employed by each of the characters. There is no one who is all powerful or truly innocent. The virgin and the wronged woman connive to make a “bed trick” to trap the unscrupulous deputy. The long-imprisoned drunkard successfully foils a capital switcheroo and derails the plan of the supposedly well-meaning Duke. While this is classified as a comedy, a Russian cast calls to mind that country’s complex relationship with authoritarianism and ideology. Crisp enunciation and precise timing pare each scene down to essential emotions, with the surtitles almost unnecessary.
At times, the actors look out as if in front of a television camera. Indeed, the suits worn by the Duke, Angelo and other officials, are so modern, you find yourself trying to recall whether you last saw them on CNN or FoxNews. Since this is Shakespeare, these suits get what they deserve, as do the women they attempt to dominate. The requisite weddings take place, though it is clear there are no happy endings. That too, feels entirely modern.
