Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale

Don't let the negative 'review' posted here by another writer put you off. This is a great, insightful production of one of Shakespeare's most difficult plays. It's a so-called "romance", which means it's neither comedy nor tragedy but with elements of both, and it's built on a rather silly-sounding plot involving broken kingdoms, death and exile, a 16-year time jump in the middle, young lovers, and at the very last, miracles and redemption beyond all hope. But that's the sort of thing that became popular on the London stage in the early 1600's, and the protean Shakespeare was always able to adapt to whatever dramatic form came along. Silly or not, the thing is that in the hands of a good team of actors, The Winter's Tale works. And this is a good team. You just have to get used to the fact that this is the actual stage production from the Garrick Theatre in 2015; it's not redone or reworked as a movie, so it doesn't have a number of the audiovisual advantages that a true movie version could or would have. But it doesn't really need them.

About the actors: the headliners of course are Kenneth Branagh himself as King Leontes of Sicilia, and Judi Dench as Paulina, his advisor/scourge/conscience. (Paulina is one of the most unique and interesting parts that Shakespeare ever came up with, and it is she more than anyone else that drives the engine of the plot and its resolution.) Both of these veterans are reliably good, but for me the standouts were Miranda Raison as Queen Hermione, and Jessie Buckley as the long-lost daughter/princess Perdita. They don't so much play their parts as seize them with both hands. They're the most forceful versions of these roles I have seen (and I've seen half a dozen different productions of this play) and they are what make this Winter's Tale stand out for me. Shakespeare was clearly very fond of the stage archetype of the Young Heroine who is thrown by tragic doings not of her making and must overcome great obstacles to find a new place in the world. He gives us a long string of these beautiful youngsters that we, the audience, instantly fall in love with and root for: Rosalind, Viola, Juliet, Ophelia, Hermia and Helena, Marina, Innogen, Cordelia, Miranda -- and Perdita. Perdita, maybe, is the biggest winner of them all because she not only discovers her true identity but gains a prince, two kingdoms, and her long-lost loving parents to boot.

A serious message of this play comes through by its obvious comparisons to Othello: Leontes, like Othello, is consumed with a baseless jealous rage over his wife Hermione, and it's in a sense even worse because it didn't even need an Iago to touch it off. Tragedy ensues: the queen dies (apparently) offstage in childbirth, their son soon sickens and dies too, the baby is lost, Leontes' friendship with King Polixenes of Bohemia is destroyed, and all is plunged into meaningless darkness. That darkness is where Othello ends. But Shakespeare never does the same thing again in the same way. In Winter's Tale, key characters live on, time heals, and it turns out that there is life and reconciliation beyond brokenness and darkness.

'The Winter's Tale' is not one of the very best plays of William Shakespeare, a master playwright and one of history's most important, with one of his more improbable plots. It is still though a charmer that really casts a spell when done well, has interesting characters difficult to portray in some cases (especially the Othello-like Leontes), has Shakespeare's usual mastery of language and has emotional impact. To me, even when Shakespeare was not at his very best there was still an awful lot to admire.

As well as liking the play and loving watching live filmed play productions, my main reason for seeing Kenneth Branagh's production of 'The Winter's Tale' was Branagh himself and Judi Dench. Branagh is very experienced in Shakespeare, both as actor and director, and has proven a number of times that he is excellent at it as seen with his film versions of 'Hamlet', 'Henry V' and 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Dench has for a long time been a personal favourite, she has such authority and dignity and doesn't try to do too much. Both come off well brilliantly here and count me in as another person that loved this production of 'The Winter's Tale', among the better productions of the play seen.

One of the best aspects of the production is the acting. Branagh excels as Leontes, a complex role performed with equal complexity in a performance that has searing intensity as the jealousy grews and also poignancy. Really liked that the performance started off quiet and subtle and then became more intense and icy as Leontes became more jealous, showing a character progression, Leontes is not the kind of role to underplay and play too subdued, neither of which Branagh does and very effectively. Dench is every bit as great, Paulina ties everything together and drives and fixes the action which Dench conveys with intelligence and understated compassion, she is very movingly tender when Paulina shows Leontes his baby (a part that was very moving in the production).

It is not just them that come over so well. Miranda Raison is a suitably forceful and also affecting Hermione, her anger blazes when being accused while being controlled enough to avoid over-acting. Jessie Buckley's free-spirited-ness is immensely appealing and full of life. Everybody is believable. Even though not set in the period that the play is set in, the production looks good and looks tasteful. No over-grimness or mishmashes. Absolutely loved the wintery atmosphere, especially at the very Christmas-like beginning, which didn't come over as heavy-handed or too cold.

Shakespeare's text shines through, amusing, tense, loving and poignant in equal measure. The staging is always absorbing and done in good taste, it didn't come over as too busy or too static while also not resorting to pointless distaste. Everything is coherent too, one would never guess that the plot of the play is not the most probable of ones. Despite trying not to be too much of a traditionalist, have liked concept productions of plays and operas, but it depends on how the concept is executed, whether it and the staging touches make sense and don't offend. The pace is fine and the spirit of the play is maintained with full impact, shining in how the characters are directed with a clear understanding of Leontes in particular. Emotionally, this 'The Winter's Tale' is a real winner and is very poignant at the end.

Concluding, wonderful. 9/10

Judi Dench was terrific, as were actors in some of the smaller roles. Branagh must stop directing himself - he has no objectivity where his own acting is concerned. Hermione sounded like she was just reciting her lines - the Emilia was much more memorable in three lines.

Lighting might have been okay for stage, but for film it was woefully inadequate - when there was enough light to see the actors, there were shadows cast on the scrim. Costumes were mediocre and Beyonce's folding fake baby bump was more realistic-looking than Hermione's. Ancient Sicily updated to early 20th century didn't really work and the combination of the German Christmas tree and discussions of the Oracle of Delphi was a little jarring.

I really, really wanted to enjoy this production but there were just too many problems.