This was an uplifting evening, as far as I was concerned. It was the result of a bold outreach move by the National Theatre under Rufus Norris, being part of the Public Acts initiative. A small company of professional actors were supplemented and greatly outnumbered by groups drawn from a variety of sources. Some of these joined in the play generally as citizens and fishers and pirates, for example. Other groups gave cameo performances, including the London Bulgarian Choir and the Youthsayers Ska Band. One way or another the stage was filled with people of all ages, ethnicities and abilities. This was a bold experiment that worked extremely professionally and was a testament to the skills of Emily Lim as Director.
The play itself follows the life and wanderings of Pericles and in particular the apparent loss of his wife and baby daughter at sea leading on to their reunification some sixteen years later. Pericles was played enthusiastically by Ashley Zhangazha, ably matched by Naana Agyei-Ampadu as his wife, Thaisa. Also particularly memorable was the ultra-camp display by Kevin Harvey as Boult. Whilst the National Theatre followed the plot faithfully, this was described as "a version" by Chris Bush. This meant that it was pretty unclear which words were from the bard and which were substitutions by Chris Bush. Whatever the answer, it all worked very well and provided a pleasurable ninety minutes - albeit a time extended by a problem with the scenary at about the half way stage.
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