Coriolanus @ The Globe Theatre

We braved the ominous weather today and on a whim rushed into Southwark to see Shakespeare's Coriolanus at The Globe Theatre.

The Globe is one of my favourite venues in London and for £5 it is easily one of the best days out in the city. Of course, the entry fee may be cheap but the cost to one's back is quite expansive. Clocking in at three hours, Coriolanus could have severely tested mine but the play cracked along so well that the pain was soon forgotten.

Coriolanus is one of the few Shakespeare plays that I hadn't read or seen, until today. After seeing it I am surprised that I haven't ever come across it before. Apparently T. S. Elliot ranks it above Hamlet in Shakespeare tragic ouvre. I wouldn't go that far as the final act is a little lacking and the flaw in Coriolanus' character, his pride, casts him as relatively shallow hero/anti-hero, certainly not as self reflective as Hamlet or Macbeth.


That said, the powerplay between the great unwashed masses and the senate is electrifyingly relevant to contemporary audiences. The disdain that Coriolanus holds the common people who hold the power to ratify his election as consul of Rome and the two-facedness of his peers is reminiscent of the ever more autocratic power structures of the modern superpowers. Unfortunately the masses are portrayed as fickle and easily manipulated, which I suspect, in some respects could just as well be true today.

As soon as the actors opened their mouths it was clear that there was some quality at hand. In Australia I have often pined for some decent Shakespeare productions and nothing has ever really come close to holding a candle to the British. This troupe had an excellent handle on the cadence and rhythm of Shakespeare's lines. I was a little worried when Simon Cake stepped on stage as Coriolanus; he seemed to chew through his lines with next to no passion. Luckily he came into his own when the role required it. I'd still take issue with some of the comedy he tried to bring to the role and sometimes his anger tended towards petulance but all in all he came out on top.


Margot Leicester was exceptional as Volumnia, Coriolanus' mother. What an intriguing character. She came across like an battle-hardened stage mum and her relationship with her son was both affecting and oppressively real. Menenius, played by silver-tongued Robin Soans, made for a solid voice of reason in the whole affair. It was a wonder to watch him in action and I hope to bump into him again in some future production at The Globe.

My only serious gripes with the characterisations was that of the Sicinus, who slipped all too easily into the gay villain role. Surely nowadays, with homosexuality being considered relatively mainstream, relying on gay affectations to signify to the audience that this character is untrustworthy and cowardly is a little passé.

As always everything turns out horribly and everyone dies, but at The Globe they like to finish up the traditional way so after the horrific conclusion there is a rousing dance number and everyone gets up and clapping. It is a great way to end a sombre tragedy.

I have taken some shots that you can see here but they are not that interesting because stewards were very vigilant about not taking shots when the show was being laid out.

There is also this quick video I took. You can see the steward coming over to tell me off.



Tags: Shakespeare, theatre, London