Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Gavin Fowler, Amber James, Oliver Ford Davis, Adjoa Andoh, Andy Apollo, James Cooney, Suzanne Bertish, Jim Hooper, Theo Ogundipe, Daniel Burke, Sheila Reid, Andrew Langtree, Amanda Harris, Daniel Hawksford, Geoffrey Lumb, Daisy Badger, Charlotte Arrowsmith, Ewart James Walters, Leigh Quinn, Mikhail Sen, Gabby Wong, Helen Grady, Esther McAuley, Nicole Agada.
Advertised as Shakespeare meets Mad Max, this production of Troilus & Cressida by the Royal Shakespeare Company brings together more traditionally garbed Trojans with motorcycle riding, metallic Greeks, accentuating what is described in the programme notes as a play that embraces contradictions, rather than flattening them.
The titular characters, played both tenderly and powerfully by Gavin Fowler & Amber James, almost play second fiddle, as around them Troy defends itself and its prize, Queen Helen, against the armies of Agamemnon, here played by the commanding Suzanne Bertish. The main mover of scenes though is Adjoa Andoh’s utterly captivating Ulysses. Showing both the intelligence of the original character, mixed with a rejuvenated energy that is entirely the actor’s, this Ulysses could easily be portrayed as a villain in any other play and is given a lot more licence than previous productions.
Her calculating nature is vital to getting Achilles (Andy Apollo) back to the battlefield- using his jealousy of Ajax (Theo Ogundipe), love of Patroclus (James Cooney) and hatred of Hector (Daniel Hawksford) in such a meticulous way that is scarcely provided to heroes in other texts. However, as such is the contradiction of both the play and the production in particular- she is here the saviour of the Greeks. The play itself leaves much of the fate of its titular characters unanswered, but in truth the main relationship of the play is that between Achilles and Patroclus, played masterfully by Andy Apollo and James Cooney respectively. Both men deliver sterling performances, and would hold the lead of any future show the R.S.C. would wish to cast them in.
Overall, what can be a complex and confusing play was dealt with expertise, talent, and cunning. Director Gregory Doran paid tribute in his programme notes to former Artistic Director John Barton, who died in January, for whom Troilus and Cressida was his favourite play. It certainly did his memory justice!
Danny Partington