{"id":102454,"date":"2024-03-15T09:51:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T13:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=102454"},"modified":"2024-03-15T09:51:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T13:51:00","slug":"scrutiny-stoppards-rosencrantz-guildenstern-dead-aged-despite-acting-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/03\/15\/scrutiny-stoppards-rosencrantz-guildenstern-dead-aged-despite-acting-highlights\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Stoppard\u2019s Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Has Aged, Despite Acting Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R:
L-R: Dominic Monaghan & Billy Boyd in the Neptune\/Mirvish production of Tom Stoppard\u2019s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Photo: @stoometzphoto)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

David Mirvish & Neptune Theatre\/Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, by Tom Stoppard, directed by Jeremy Webb, CAA Theatre, until Apr. 6. Tickets here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

To be perfectly frank, Tom Stoppard\u2019s 1966 play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead has not aged well. While later offerings from this playwright continue to dazzle, sadly, R&GAD falls flat.<\/p>\n

I remember the excitement of seeing R&GAD in New York when it was a runaway Broadway hit, and being entranced by Stoppard\u2019s brilliant take on absurdist existentialism. I thought the playwright was so clever in building a plot around two minor characters from Shakespeare\u2019s Hamlet. In Stoppard\u2019s R&GAD, we do see the few times that Hamlet\u2019s childhood friends actually appear in the play, but in the main, it is how they behave when they are alone that is at the heart of Stoppard\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, over many years and several productions later, the play has lost its lustre. What was once witty repartee, provocative philosophical musings, and an engaging discussion on art versus reality, has become a pompous avalanche of words that seems too clever by half. The inconsistencies in the plot stand out, while the absurdist elements are no longer funny. In fact, the play is more tedious, than anything else.<\/p>\n

As well, Stoppard\u2019s R&GAD is not helped by the fact that it is very similar to Samuel Beckett\u2019s Waiting for Godot (1953), with its two characters also in existential limbo, but which has aged beautifully with its economy of words and clear presentation of ideas. Did Stoppard deliberately copy Beckett as his starting point? Who knows?<\/p>\n

Thus, stripping away the flaws of the play, what we are left with are the two actors who perform R&G and who, over three long acts, barely leave the stage.<\/p>\n

In one of the ads for this production from Halifax\u2019s Neptune Theatre, R&G are performed by two actors who appeared in Peter Jackson\u2019s Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy (2000-2003). Yet, I find it hard to believe that anyone is coming to see this play because two Hobbits from almost 20 years ago are its stars.<\/p>\n

Rather, what is gracing the stage are two very skilful British actors who have the chops to carry the show. In fact, the team of English Dominic Monaghan (Rosencrantz) and Scottish Billy Boyd (Guildenstern) is one of this production\u2019s few redeeming features, despite director Jeremy Webb\u2019s slow pacing.<\/p>\n

\"Company
Company in the Neptune\/Mirvish production of Tom Stoppard\u2019s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Photo: @stoometzphoto)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The casting came about because Webb, Neptune\u2019s artistic director, got to know Boyd when the latter was filming various projects in Nova Scotia. It was Webb\u2019s idea to unite Boyd with his good friend Monaghan to play R&G, and that pairing certainly works. What I really like about these actors is that they are clearly able to distinguish between the two characters who are often portrayed as two halves of the same whole.<\/p>\n

Guildenstern is the more philosophical and questioning, and Boyd beautifully captures his almost id\u00e9e fixe of following his own thought trajectory regardless of what is going on around him. He beautifully builds an arc for an oblivious Guildenstern who is entranced by his own seeming intelligence.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Monaghan is a fussy, almost timid Rosencrantz, but he is also more of a realist, and it is he who has a better grasp of their strange situation \u2014 in the court, but also outside it. The actor also does an excellent job in following the lead of the verbose Guildenstern, but in Monaghan\u2019s capable hands, Rosencrantz can also assert himself when he must.<\/p>\n

Stoppard has made a key part of his plot the travelling players, who, in Hamlet, perform before the court. R&G keep on running into them throughout the play, and their leader, simply called The Player (Michael Blake), is essential for presenting the art versus reality theme. Blake, who last year at Stratford played two Shakespeare villains, gets a chance to really strut his stuff in this flamboyant role. He brings a needed energy to the stage.<\/p>\n

When not playing characters from Shakespeare\u2019s Hamlet as needed, the other ten actors are members of The Player\u2019s acting troupe, and they do a fine job as a Greek chorus, of sorts. There are also some fine actors here \u2014 Pasha Ebrahimi as Hamlet, Jonathan Ellul as Claudius, Walter Borden as Polonius, Raquel Duffy as Gertrude, and Helen Belay as Ophelia. Drew Douris-O\u2019Hara gets an amusing turn as Alfred, a tragedian who plays women\u2019s roles.<\/p>\n

Now we come to Andrew Cull\u2019s annoying set which is a bank of bleachers that look like refugees from a high school football field. Yes, they do move around, and, yes, they are able to separate to create various venues, but they are awkward and unsightly. Director Webb has poor Monaghan and Boyd clambering up and down the rows throughout the play which becomes distracting over time. In fact, you worry about their safety.<\/p>\n

Kaelen MacDonald\u2019s costumes are a strange mix of centuries that include an inexplicable short circus tutu skirt for Gertrude. Why lighting designer Leigh Ann Vardy has made the stage so dark is anyone\u2019s guess. The most effective member of the creative team is composer Deanna H. Choi\u2019s atmospheric sound design.<\/p>\n

I sincerely hope that first time G&RAD audience members, and I\u2019m sure there are many, have the same burst of excitement at their encounter with the play, because Stoppard\u2019s Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead does diminish with each successive viewing.<\/p>\n

Are you looking to promote an event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em>HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To be perfectly frank, Tom Stoppard\u2019s 1966 play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead has not aged well, despite some acting highlights in the Neptune production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":102458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40967,52,62,63],"tags":[41096,41097,41095,40692],"yst_prominent_words":[11181],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/Copy-of-REVIEW-3.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-qEu","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102454"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102454"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102461,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102454\/revisions\/102461"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102454"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=102454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}