With the scorching heat of the past week, I was amused to see blankets being handed out at the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival’s outdoor performance of Pericles last night. After all, my apartment has fans blowing hot air around 24/7—how cold could a field at Camosun’s Lansdowne campus get at 8 at night? The answer: really freaking cold.
The good news is that the strong performances make it worth braving the chilly temperatures. Jack Hayes is the perfect blend of over-the-top-playing-to-the-back-of-the-crowd and subtle intimacy as tortured King Pericles and Lara Hamburg is breathtaking and emotive as his estranged daughter, Marina.
Despite the bewilderment that can accompany an audience member when watching Shakespeare (that feeling like you’re watching an opera without subtitles) both Hayes and Hamburg are able to convey their characters’ development (even if I didn’t understand every word they’re saying).
The plot of Pericles is convoluted, to say the least (it is Shakespeare, after all) but Cam Culham does his best as narrator Gower to navigate us through the vast timeframe and locations of the story.
With minimal sets, director Christopher Weddell manages to use little more than fabric and a few props to take us across the sea and back with Pericles. Weddell also chooses to blend a mixture of modern-day clothing and head-to-toe period costumes. This decision, at times, left me feeling like I was watching a dress rehearsal. While I appreciate the flair and uniqueness of Weddell’s vision, with so many locations and decades over the course of the show, I have to wonder if it might not have been less confusing to have more cohesion with the costumes.
And, while I understand the vast challenges of micing actors outdoors, there were times (particularly toward the end of the show as their voices tired) when it became challenging to hear them. That being said, I was thoroughly impressed with how such a minimalist performance was able to convey a full-spectrum experience for the audience. This stripped-down Shakespeare proves that the brilliance of the work is the writing… even if you don’t understand all of it.
Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival
Various days and times, until Saturday, August 4
Various prices, Camosun College Lansdowne campus and Saxe Point Park
vicshakespeare.com