Beyond the eerie central space of the sixteenth-century Rose Theatre, a few inches deep in water to protect its Shakespearean leftovers from further destruction, sits a little balcony that the Bard might recognise; certainly, he would be familiar with the play taking place on it, although he might wonder where the rest of it was.
Billed as a ‘reduction’, this ‘Measure for Measure’ is brisk and knowing; the characters offer lewd asides, impromptu comments and discomfiting breaches of the fourth wall that fit well with Shakespeare’s own vulgarities. There is a fine bawd, Mistress Overdone (Elizabeth Bloom), and her pimp-turned-executioner – without him, would the central deception, wherein another’s severed head is substituted for imprisoned Claudio’s, have been possible? Claudio is guilty of lewdness, which is the conniving Duke’s opportunity to disappear, leaving unpleasant Angelo in charge. Cue imprisonments, puritanical pontificating and a lot of people wandering round in hoods muttering ‘Prick!’ at opportune moments.
Brice Stratford, playing the Duke, also directs, and while he manages reasonably well, the play really has been reduced in every sense; it doesn’t help that none of these actors can make Shakespeare’s language resonate (Suzanne Marie, as Claudio’s virtuous sister Isabella, is particularly hard to follow, although she cries up a convincing storm when Angelo attempts rape). The result is a show that unwittingly reflects the theatre housing it: there’s considerable fun happening at the edges but the central points remain disappointingly submerged.