Shakespearean taboo
For most theatergoers, the byline “by William Shakespeare” carries a unique weight. Seeing his name attached to a production, even if the title doesn’t ring a bell, comes with a dramatic indemnity clause: if you see the play and don’t like it, are you really going to admit to being an uncultured ingrate?
Well? Are you?
In general, that unique Shakespearian compact between audience and production holds true. This reviewer, at least, hasn’t seen a “Macbeth” or a “Julius Caesar” that was actively bad, even if some productions weren’t all that memorable. So long as the audience doesn’t demand too much of the source material, productions agree to deliver something at least serviceably entertaining, occasionally bordering on greatness.
But that tacit agreement breaks down as one ventures further into the depths of Shakespeare’s repertoire. Have you ever seen “Henry VI: Part 3,” for example? More to the point, do you even want to?
The answer to both questions is almost certainly “nope.” And that’s not a collective indictment of us, the audience, but arguably evidence that (gasp!) Shakespeare occasionally fails to live up to his end of the bargain. In other words, some of his plays are just not that fun.
RSC’s “Pericles”
With that taboo shattered, we come to “Pericles,” an eclectic and somewhat obscure play “by William Shakespeare” that, against the odds, does occasionally see the light of day on stage. (This reviewer has seen it twice now, without really meaning to the first time.)
And you, too, can experience the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)’s impassioned performance of “Pericles” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, through Dec. 7.
Yes, that RSC, of Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Partnering with Chicago Shakes for the first time in 30 years, the company excels here on dramatic and technical levels that live up to its hallowed reputation, as directed by RSC co-artistic director Tamara Harvey.
A sparse stage dominated by ropes (scenic design by Jonathan Fensom) evokes both the fragility of the ships that catalyze much of the action, as well as the physical and metaphorical cages in which the characters find themselves.
Five background musicians (directed by Elenor Peregrin, with music composed by Claire van Kampen) help amplify the mood of darker or action-filled sequences without becoming intrusive. Purposeful blocking and fluid, expressive dance (movement directed by Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster) physically animate the narrative.
Stark shifts in lighting (designed by Ryan Day), from moody, dim glows to harsh white spotlights, play a critical role in setting the tenor of sometimes inscrutable scenes, providing critical punctuation for the fever-dream of a plot.
And the cast likewise delivers striking moments. Zach Wyatt as Pericles brings gravity and feeling to a character who endures an inhuman level of hardship. As a narrator who becomes a pivotal character, Rachelle Diedericks imbues a liveliness to the role of Marina that shatters the lady-in-distress typecast, making her a sympathetic and fully realized heroine.
Shout-outs as well to Christian Patterson as Simonides for comedic timing and audience engagement, and to Jacqueline Boatswain and Miles Barrow, who invest genuine menace into a scene that hints at sexual violence, conveying enough of a threat to make this reviewer squirm.
In a word, the production is solid. But the strength of the cast and associate director Francesca Murray-Fuentes’s studied, 21st-century staging inadvertently highlight the shortcomings of the script.
“Pericles” could be charitably described as episodic. Characters lurch between scenes, arbitrarily experiencing love and loss along the way. The plot resembles a best-hits remix of other Shakespeare works – an implication of incest (see: “King Lear”), shipwrecks (see: “The Tempest”) and a long-lost daughter (see: “The Winter’s Tale”). As with any best-hits collection, the originals are far better, in this case because they more fully realize the dramatic implications of these sources of conflict.
The play offers a series of sugar-highs—hits of pathos or melodrama—without much substance. RSC’s standout performances enhance the high points, but asking the company to make the play’s series of derivative events cohere is simply unfair. Like many uneven cultural touchstones, one is grateful for having seen this Shakespeare play, but without necessarily feeling enriched while watching it live.
It's in that spirit that you should see this iteration of “Pericles.” The production offers a shining example of how deft modern touches can enhance Shakespeare beyond the confines of a laborious script. But for all of RSC’s brilliance, don’t be afraid to acknowledge the play’s shortcomings. Perhaps even consider how we experience dramatic payoffs, or how this play echoes, and might even underscore, the strengths of the Bard’s other works.
And, as this reviewer did, remark upon the way that, even on one of his off days, “by William Shakespeare” continues to be a sign that you’re in for a unique experience.
“Pericles” continues at Chicago Shakespeare's Courtyard Theater on Navy Pier, 800 East Grand Ave.,Chicago, through Dec. 7, with shows Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Thursdays & Fridays at 7:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets range from $66 to $84. For tickets and information, call the box office at (312) 595-5600 or visit ChicagoShakes.com. Run time is 2 hours and 35 minutes, including intermission.