Chicago Shakespeare Theater: RSC’s PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE Review
Zach Wyatt as Pericles, Leah Haile as Thaisa, and the company of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pericles
Chicago Shakespeare Theater Presents The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pericles Price of Tyre Review - A Colorful, Melodic Adventure
TLDR: Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre would be a good fit for those who love traditional Shakespeare and his plays about journeys and adventures. This production puts a spotlight on the contrast between the different lands he visits and plays into the highs and lows of human emotion delivered by a talented ensemble.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater Takes Us On A Journey
Setting sail, a ship finds itself in the middle of a storm. Waves are crashing and crew members are flying while lightning flickers all around. The ropes above and to the back of the stage, acting like a sail and rigging, sway dangerously back and forth. Pericles is tossed to and fro on the stage as the ensemble moves around him. They run from one side of the stage to another, mimicking the violent movement of a ship rocked by massive waves. We hear the music swell in the background as it seems the storm will not cease and then a blackout as Pericles looks to the heavens above. This is only one scene of the ensemble based production of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre.
The company of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pericles
Transporting Us Through an Array of Colors
Bringing the production over from the UK, us Chicago audiences are treated to an adventure. The ensemble starts the show in plain, simple dresses, neutral linens, and cloth slip-on shoes. They blend together and, as we follow Pericles through his journey to different lands, they don other pieces of clothing on top of this base set to become citizens of the different nations.
Pericles wears an embroidered, pale blue tunic to start. We see it matches his homeland of Tyre as his advisors and people wear the same shade. As he sails to Antioch to win the hand of a beautiful princess, we’re greeted by the sight of haughty, royal purples.
We move to the land of Tarsus where it feels like their costumes reflect a dry and sunburnt land. The governess Dionyza (Gabby Wong) wears a sun crown and wears a dusty burlap skirt. Her husband the governor, Cleon (Chukwuma Omambala) bears a royal burlap sash as well and the rest of their famished people wear neutral beige or rust colored orange-browns.
In Pentapolis, rich reds surround us. It feels warm and welcoming as we’re greeted to a birthday tournament and feast and later move into a comfy chamber with plush floor cushions for seating. Finally in the lands of Ephesus, which houses the temple of the goddess Diana, the temple priestesses don long, flowy, spring green gowns and headdresses bathed in soft light.
Though a simple enough change to indicate we’re in different locations, the details of the costumes paint a picture for us for how each of these lands are vastly different from one another.
A Wide Breadth of Emotions
As much as the ensemble changes costumes, they also change into different characters, subtly adjusting their movements and accents to transport us there.
Felix Hayes holds his head up proudly as King Antiochus, leering at Pericles who tries to solve his riddle. When we meet him later, he puts on a Cockney accent as a simple fisherman helping Pericles out of the sea.
Jacqueline Boatswain glides effortlessly as Cerimon, lord of Ephesus, with light and flowy motions. She then becomes the boisterous bawd of Mytilene, hands on her hips speaking lewdly to Marina in her brothel.
We perhaps don’t notice Christian Patterson at first as he moves with the ensemble, but when he becomes Simonides, King of Pentapolis, he becomes a larger than life presence. He’s jovial as he celebrates his daughter’s birthday. He listens in the background as his daughter sings about love with a contented smile on his face. He gains favor with us as he breaks the fourth wall and tries to get a few audience members to read his daughter’s letter, jokingly brushing two off before finding a third to get up and read it. He finds moments of laughter in pauses and knowing when to tease his daughter and Pericles.
And of course Pericles, played by Zach Wyatt, stays as Pericles throughout the performance, but he is not without his own journey of emotions as well. He stands proudly as he proclaims he is off to win the hand of a beautiful woman to be his wife. He sits shivering on the sand of the sea as he asks the fisherman for a cloak. As he lifts his new wife Thaisa (Leah Haile) up off the ground, the two lock eyes in love. And later after losing his wife and daughter, he becomes a shell of himself, sitting on the steps of the stage, his eyes lost and unseeing.
When it is time for each of the cast members to step into someone else’s shoes or grow as a character, they embody them fully.
Zach Wyatt plays the title role in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pericles
The After Party Thoughts
Honestly, I was enraptured throughout the entire performance with how the ensemble members created very specific personalities and physicality to portray their multiple characters. The music adds this level that elevates the whole performance because it’s all instrumental, so it’s just like a movie soundtrack. It’s not a huge production with lots of props or large, elaborate sets but it still gives us a grand feeling of traveling the world. So all these things - the ensemble, the music, the costumes, and the emotive performances - all come together to transport us to these different lands while still giving the spotlight to the characters.
For those who aren’t fans of traditional Shakespeare or are looking for an emotionally surface level play, this might not be the show for you. However, if you like Shakespeare’s works performed in traditional Elizabethan English, shows with ensemble movement pieces, and ones that dive into emotions, this would be a good fit for you.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
When
Now through December 7, 2024
Where
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
Courtyard Theater
800 East Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
Tickets
30+
Tickets can be purchased through the Chicago Shakespeare Theater website
Photos
Johan Persson
CAST
Miles Barrow (Thaliard/Boult)
Philip Bird (Helicanus)
Jacqueline Boatswain (Cerimon/Bawd)
Rachelle Diedericks (Marina)
Chyna-Rose Frederick (Antiochus’ Daughter/Lychorida/Diana)
Sasha Ghoshal (Ensemble),
Leah Haile (Thaisa)
Felix Hayes (Anitochus/Pander)
Kel Matsena (Lysimachus)
Miriam O’Brien (Ensemble)
Emmanuel Olusanya (Ensemble)
Chukwuma Omambala (Cleon)
Sam Parks (Escanes, Leonine)
Christian Patterson (Simonides)
Gabby Wong (Dionyza)
Zach Wyatt (Pericles)
CREATIVE
William Shakespeare (Playwright)
Tamara Harvey (Director)
Jonathan Fensom (Set Designer)
Kinnetia Isidore (Costume Designer)
Ryan Day (Lighting Designer)
Claire van Kampen (Composer)
Claire Windsor (Sound Designer)
Annie-Lunnette Deakin Foster (Movement Director)
Charlotte Sutton CDG (Casting Director)
Elinor Peregrin (Music Director)
Tess Dignan (Voice and Text)
Francesca Murray-Fuentes (Associate Director)
Zoë Thomas-Webb (Associate Costume Designer)
Juliano Zaffino (Textual Consultant)