“Oh y’all wanted a twist?”
Well, there are certainly some to be found in this year’s round of Olivier Award nominations, announced earlier this week to the usual mix of delight, disdain and distress (Bonnie and Clyde snubbed? Surely not!).
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A revival of Measure for Measure could not be more timely in the current climate. The story of a man who abuses his power to get a woman who has no interest in him into bed – the parallels are all too clear. Director and Donmar artistic director Josie Rourke has decided to put a new spin on this most problematic of Shakespeare’s plays by double casting the roles of novice nun Isabella (Hayley Atwell) and the corrupt judge Angelo (Jack Lowden).
In act one, Angelo, as originally written, is in power with the play set back in Elizabethan Vienna. In act two, Isabel is the one in charge whilst Angelo is the pious youth in a far more modern setting. An interesting concept, and one that sparks a lot of discussion before the play even begins – when it comes to abuse are we more inclined to believe women over men? Is a woman in a position of power equal to that of a man in the same place? Is Rourke trying to suggest that the events set in the modern day are simply history repeating? Continue reading
Riot in the Cheap Seats 