Dido, Queen of Carthage
Modern practices production; last performance, 7.30 pm
Cast:
Master of Play - Tim Carroll
Rakie Ayola - Dido
Dave Fishley - Iarbas/Hermes
James Garnon - Cupid/Jupiter
Will Keen - Aeneas
Caitlin Mottram - Anna/Juno
Clare Swinburne - Venus
Liked it better than the first time, the cast excelled themselves.
When Dido and Aeneas take 'shelter' in the cave, they're actually running into the tiring house through the middle door and straight into the open lift; they kiss as the lift doors close, which also marks the end of part I. This is, imo, a fabulous use of the Globe space and I loved the image of the closing doors to signal the interval.
Aeneas seems to get easily bored with Dido's protestations of love and he seems to feel he is no hero, not strong at all, because he's survived and the others haven't. In Will (Keen)'s interpretation it almost seemed as if the fall of Troy had stripped Aeneas of his 'manliness' and he only regained it, along with his confidence, with Dido's unconditional love.
Rakie (Ayola) is simply breathtaking as Dido. She was strong, then giddy and girlish, then desperate, but always with a purity and clarity of emotion and an amazing sense for the character she was portraying. As she lit her first sparkler, I was close to tears. Her Dido can be a blushing, skittish teeny in love, yet there is always the knowledge that she is a Queen and used to having her own way in everything, that she's a ruler and wishes to be treated as such. Her fall from love into despair was heart-breaking and moving and the passion and fire I saw in this performance is such as I'm unlikely to ever forget.
Anna (Caitlin Mottram) is a tragic character and I loved her, she was wonderfully portrayed, with an intensity that shone throughout. Once again, I did enjoy the use of the plastic hoola-hoop rings as symbolic clothes, worn like sashes across one shoulder. The double use as picture frames was great. They also came into play when depicting a certain "image" or moment in time, as when Venus talked to Jupiter about Aeneas and showed him and his son (the doll) within the frame of the ring, as if in a thought bubble.
Hermes (Dave Fishley) must be the most petulant, pouting child ever ;D. The scene where Dido realises Aeneas will leave her contains a fairly long subsequent conversation between them in Latin (I learned it for five years and had absolutely no clue as to what was said *grrr*). Rakie and Will grasped each other's hand, then leant away as they spoke, lowering themselves to the ground. It was like an incantation, with rhythm and feeling and an immense charge in the air, up to the moment when they let go of each other and sat heavily on the stage.
I'm still not a particular fan of the play, but I must admit I was enthralled both times I saw it and I do applaud the cast for their stirring, fantastic performances. They shone and made the story memorable and beautiful, brimming with an intensity that I've seldom seen displayed on stage.
Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to me at
ferngully_at@yahoo.com.