The company of A Tale Of Two Cities. Photo: Johan Persson A Tale of Two Cities
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
14 July 2017
1 star
A Tale of Two Cities was hitting the headlines well before this press night, with reports of families walking out due to the violence and profanity.
The play has since been reworked in response to the furore, and yet, the night I attended (with barely a child in sight), many people still didn’t return after the interval. Not even too crude, just too bad.
This is an almighty muddle of a production that tries to bridge the gap between the 1859 book and the modern day, drawing parallels between the poverty of 1850s Paris and modern day Sangatte.
Nicholas Karimi as Sydney Carton.Photo: John Persson The production bafflingly mixes both modern and 18th century attire, with Dickensian-style dialogue up against Brechtian scene introductions. It’s like they’ve thrown everything at the wall to see what sticks; the result makes for a difficult experience, and that’s not even factoring in the epic three hour running time.
The story’s plot is complex at the best of times and the mixed-up nature of this production doesn’t lend itself to clarity. Those of us lucky enough to have a programme were able to make some sense of it, but I heard many people saying they were truly lost after the first half, which darted between multiple locations and characters.
Patrick Driver (Manette), Foyinsola Ighhodalo (Little Lucie), Jude Owusu (Darnay) and Marieme Diouf (Lucie). Photo: Johan Persson
Perhaps the screens around the venue could have been used to shed some light on the matter, rather than showing clips of contemporary figures such as Donald Trump (which seems to be a pre-requisite for a show to be green-lighted at the moment).
Whilst the political statement it tries to make is laudable, it is crashingly noisy and unsubtle, with the ensemble often reduced to chewing the scenery. Timothy Sheader (director) and Matthew Dunster (writer) are both accomplished and talented directors and writers; it is hard to fathom what happened here to produce such a dud.
Nicholas Khan as Monseigneur. Photo: Johan Persson
The main bright spot is the music (for which ironically no credit is given in the programme), which provides atmosphere and tension even when it is lacking on stage.
Jude Owusu is also a sincere and touching Charles Darnay, whilst Nicholas Karimi makes great work of a searing final speech as his English counterpart Sydney Carton. However, it is very much a case of too little, too late.
The set from Fly Davis is intriguing, a trio of shipping containers that spring open to reveal various different backdrops. However, the sprawling metallic greyness does nothing to add to a production that seems well adrift of emotion, tone and context.
It might be billed as a tale of two cities, but for me, and those around me, this evening was a tale of one star.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES TICKETS
Danny Coleman-Cooke is an experienced writer, who covers news, sport and comedy for high-profile personalities and broadcasters. His speeches and scripts can be seen on stage, on primetime TV and in Parliament, broadcast to wide and diverse audiences. His experience includes writing for the BBC’s Have I Got News for You, Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage, and the Premier League’s live match commentary. He has also managed social media accounts for a number of major brands, including Tesco, The Guardian and the BBC. He's also a well-established speechwriter, scriptwriter and copywriter and has written for a wide range of famous faces in the world of politics and entertainment. He recently had his first theatrical credit, as co-writer of a musical adaptation of Beowulf, which toured the Midlands and was performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Danny is a huge theatre fan and was part of the writing team for the 2015 and 2016 Olivier Awards.
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