Theatre
Suspicitius Minds
‘I'VE BEEN FACED WITH A JEALOUS RAGE, AND IT'S JUST LIKE A MADNESS’
Steve Cramer talks to Liam Brennan and Selina Boyack about love, jealousy and The Winter’s Tale.
\er dealt with the green—e) ed monster'.’ It not. )ou‘re luek}. but most Iikel_\ _\ou haxe. .\lark 'l‘homson. nexer one to shirk the "dil‘l‘ieult" plays ol~ Shakespeare‘s oeuxre. has ehosen to begin the I.) eeum’s auttunn season \\llll 'l‘lit' ll'iiilt'r'x 'lii/t'. Aside from "Izitil. [urrsiit't/ hr (1 hair". possibl} the most bi/arre and oil quoted Shakespearean stage direetion. the one thing most l’olk know is that the
whole aetion is moti\ated. and indeed perpetuated l‘or
lb years of stage time. b_\' a single jealous rage l'rom the King I.eontes. o\ er his queen llermione‘s treatment ol‘ his best l‘riend l’oli\enes. It‘s ol'ten treated as a thorn_\ problem b_\ direetors that I.eontes' rage seems to eome \er} quiekl} and from nowhere. while llermione's passixit) in the lace ol‘ it all is sometimes seen as undul) saintl}.
It’s a problem that 'I‘homson has set out to resolxe. quite eharaeteristieall). b} some ingenious easting. ln Liam Brennan and Selina Bo_xaek. 'l‘homson has acquired a dream tieket. probabl} the highest qualit) pairing of leads _\ou‘Il see this )L‘tll'. How does Brennan resol\e the issue ol’ his sudden jealous}. \Vhieh leads to immeasurable destruetion. e\ en deaths among those around him'.’ '\\'lien I l'irst read it I thought. this is going to be so boring to see this gu_\ running about shouting and raging. But then I just realised. well it this is a good strong modern relationship. the best \\a_\ ol‘ thinking about this thing that happens to him is as a kind ol‘ illness] he
explains. ‘ll' it is a great relationship there's a lot ol'
griel‘ and pain and anger l‘or him as \\ ell as eonl‘usion. I think he’s ill ~ there's a eondition ealled morbid
80 THE LIST QC 800 ~1 Oct '
jealous). :\pparentl} it alleets middle—aged men more
than others. where the) hire pri\ate deteeti\ es and so l'orth. beeatlse the} ‘re eom ineed their partner‘s eheating on them.‘
\Vhieli is all \er} \xell. btit \xhat ol llermiones i'esponse‘.’ Bo_\aek l‘eels her eharaeter has good reason to remain ealm. "'l‘here‘s a lot in the Illa} about the di\ ision between the publie and the pri\ate. The point about the situation she‘s in is that she gets aeetlsed.
and exen stands trial in publie. It's the kind of
situation “here )ou don‘t let on about him angr} )ou are. it‘s where _\ou're thinking "inst wait until I get _\Ull home" But she tltlL‘\lI‘l get there.‘ she Mt)» ‘BL‘NltlLN I‘\L' been It] lltls slIllttIltlll. l‘\e been laeed \\illt a \er) jealous rage. and it's just like a madness. You almost ha\e to treat the person like theyre a mental ease. You beeome \er} ealm and \et‘} elear. but mainl} \er} ealm. ll' )ou shout baek at them. it's
just going to esealale. and _\ou‘re not going to be
heard. So she's eompletel} rational. like a grown—up \\ ith ehildrenf
l'ltimatel}. though. the plays aetion moxes lrottl traged} to l‘orgi\eness. and Brennan leels that this might be a reason uh} it is not often performed. in spite ol some ol the riehest poetr} in its language that the bard \xould ex er pen. 'lt's biggest eharm or magie is that it‘s about redemption] he sa}s. “People think that a theme like that is unse\_\ and unl‘ashionable. but redemption and l‘orgi\eness are radieal ideas.‘
Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 21 Sep-Sat 20 Oct
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