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Shows the timelessness of Shakespeare in the context of #MeToo Summary
Rating
Good
Measure 2 Measure is adapted from Shakespeare’s work, with three acts reduced to one and a cast of thirteen down to just three. Yet in using large pieces of the original text, the production highlights how themes and lines from a play now hundreds of years old could fit into so many stories we hear of abuse by men in powerful positions today. When an influential man, having abused a young woman, asks who will believe her, it could easily be Harvey Weinstein or… plenty of other names that could be mentioned here.
Claudio (Harry W Freeman) is in jail waiting to be executed for the crime of sleeping with a woman he is not married to. His sister, Isabella (Catie Ridewood), visits Angelo (Mickey Knighton), the local lord, to beg for Claudio’s life. Initially, Angelo has no time or interest in her pleadings. He sees no reason to give Claudio his life and approves of the punishment for his crime. Yet he then finds no hypocrisy in replicating his act and coercing Isabella into sleeping with him. When Isabella confronts him, Angelo makes out like she is mad; after all, he’s a man of power and status and who is she to question him or imply that he might have done anything untoward? Isabella admits “yet I did consent”: but of course, coercion is not consent. Is this play from 1603 or 2023? Even some of the Shakespearean language sounds as if it could be used today, as Angelo asks Isabella who will believe her and refers to ‘powerful friends’.
An orange jumpsuit works and makes sense for Claudio in jail, but dark jumpsuits for both Angelo and Isabella are less effective, while some meaning assigned to blue scarves worn initially by the men and then later added to Isabella is unclear. Strong directing from Sam Chittenden places the cast around the small room and at points within the audience. As Angelo sits on a chair with us, listening to and watching Isabella from the audience, he wonders aloud how and why we would believe her but does it with a disarming charm. He presents his defence, his justification, and his entitlement directly to us, looking around and making eye contact – an excellent performance from Knighton. Ridewood is equally captivating, first with Isabella doing all she can to save her brother’s life and then giving the character a controlled fury, a level of restrained rage, as the production brings the theme of #MeToo to the front and links the themes to a rollcall of women, many with names that we are unfortunately all too familiar with.
Not being overly familiar with the original Measure to Measure wasn’t a barrier. While I can’t comment on the changes or updates, Chittenden’s adaptation ensures this piece works on its own terms and tells its own strong, entertaining, and unfortunately timeless and timely story.
Adapted and directed by: Sam Chittenden
Written by: William Shakespeare
Measure 2 Measure plays at Bridge House Theatre until 22 April. Further information and bookings can be found here.
