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REVIEW:
Heath Earnshaw and Ursula Medina in Shakespeare’sMeasure for Measure, directed by Eric Dixon, at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester.
A solid cast can’t save this dour and bleak production of Measure for Measure.
By Marc Ferguson
As bankable and versatile as the cast of this production is, no one can save this dour delivery of Shakespeare’sMeasure for Measure. Leads Illuka Davidson (playing Angelo) and Edward Carlin (in the role of the Duke), plough through the power and politics with very light relief.
In its attempt to make a contemporary statement, director Eric Dixon’sMeasure for Measurewas just too glum and that’s a great shame given the dark comedy elements it presents.
Not even Heath Earnshaw (Claudio)—despite a solid performance—could raise the level of this production. At times it appeared that Earnshaw – a natural in every role I’ve seen him in – must have wondered how he got involved.
There’s always room for an updated and contemporary re-telling of Shakespeare in any format or forum. I have had the pleasure of seeing some magnificent adaptations of this very Shakespeare classic including a wonderful gender-swap version, but unfortunately, Dixon’s wasn’t one of them. He buried himself in tension, fragmented societies, world-weariness and bleakness.
For my money, it was a waste of Earnshaw’s talent. Dixon had his character wound so tightly that Earnshaw barely got to scratch the surface of his layered character, Claudio. Ursula Medina (in the role of Isabella) is a star in the making but Dixon was not able to bring out her best. I would love to have seen Davidson, Carlin, Earnshaw and Medina in their roles with another director at the helm.
There is humour in this play, the master wrote the lines as such, but don’t come expecting to leave laughing or even entertained, it is dull and drawn out. Save your money for another re-telling or go along just to see the performers doing their best with the interpretation they’ve been given.
Measure for Measureis at the Royal Exchange Theatre, for a three-week season.
*****
Lockwood was spending a few nights crashing on our couch and trying to get work in London before he was due to get back to the production company that both he and Heath were in. He kept me up to date on Heath—bless him—and mentioned that it was opening week for Shakespeare’sMeasure for Measureand that Heath was playing Claudio. Heath told the company that he could only commit to a small part. He had something up his sleeve.
I read the review while holding my breath. Even if I wasn’t with Heath, I always felt his pain and victories and I knew how this would affect him. He’d be angry, frustrated, and worried about his choice of productions. I wanted to call him but I couldn’t … he wouldn’t answer me anyway.
And then another small article on my screen caught my eye and I inhaled sharply:
Entertainment Weekly
RUMOUR FILE:
Stage actor to take to the big screen?
Rumour has it that celebrated stage performer, Heath Earnshaw, requested a smaller role in Eric Dixon’s production ofMeasure for Measureat the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, because of another commitment. Insider sources believe it may also be because he has little faith in the production. But the most bankable rumour is that Earnshaw has signed on the dotted line of a film contract and the ink is just dry on his first leading role on the big screen. Watch this space.
*****
You have to be kidding me! I had been so caught up in Edgar’s praise of my work and the thought of going to Thrushcross Grange for the weekend with him, that for just a moment I forgot to think about Heath constantly.
Suddenly, that changed.
The anger boiled inside me – I can’t believe that Heath might have signed up to do a film. He hated the film medium; he wouldn’t accept Edgar’s offer when it was put on a platter for him and now he’s doing a film! And what part has Isabella Linton played in this or was it all about revenge?
First Isabella, now the film! If this was your way of getting back at me, Heath, it worked.
Chapter 19– Dizzy days
My agent had two pieces of good news for me this week. First, she had locked in a date for the film audition which I was offered – a small part but it was to be in the morning before heading off that afternoon with Edgar to Thrushcross Grange for the weekend. The second bit of good news – because of the increased following I had been getting thanks to winning a part in Edgar’s film, being outed with Heath earlier with the ‘star-crossed lovers of the stage romance’—whatever—and being photographed with Isabella Linton (sigh), the perfume company wanted to do an updated version of theWyldegirl commercial. However, this time I was being paid quite a lot more since I wasn’t an unknown university student like the first time and their perfume was also more established. There was a God. The contract and shooting dates were yet to come.
I was out to dinner with Nelly and Lockwood celebrating Lockwood’s last night with us in London until his next crash on our couch, whenever that would be, and we all agreed our eating-out lifestyle could not continue until we were big stars or at least one of us was, and they could shout. Nelly was particularly excited about theWyldegirl commercial because she knew only too well from doing the production budgets, that commercials were a nice little stream of income.
‘It will be your shout after you get paid for that,’ she said. ‘Do they want a sidekick for you? I could beTamegirl,’ she suggested.
We all laughed.
‘Yeah, there’s not much that’s tame about you,’ I said, ‘that would be acting.’
