The world of Shakespeare

By Miki Watanabe

Staff Writer

Monday, September 4, 2000

 

The Almeida, a London theatrical company, will tour Japan in October with two of

Shakespeare's plays "Richard II" and "Coriolanus," in association with HoriPro Inc. The

plays have already been performed in London under the direction of Jonathan Kent and

both star British film actors Ralph Fiennes and Linus Roache. These productions

opened on March 30 this year at the Gainsborough Studios in East London to packed

houses. A week before the run of the plays came to a close at Gainsborough, this

reporter visited the aging studios and spoke with actor Roache, who plays opposite

Fiennes in both productions.

 

 

 

At 36, Roache is already a veteran of stage and screen. He starred in "The Wings of the

Dove," an Oscar-nominated film adaptation of Henry James' novel of the same name,

and is a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. One of his most

outstanding roles was as the main character in the controversial film "Priest," directed

by Antonia Bird. In one scene of the film, Roache rails against God for not helping a

young girl who had been molested by her father.

 

"I also liked that scene best," said Roache, whose manner is as sincere as the young

priest he played in the film. By contrast, however, Roache turns in a performance in the

Shakespeare plays that reveals a much more strident side as he vies for power.

 

 

 

The brick buildings of Gainsborough stand on Poole Street in Islington, about a 10-

minute walk from Old Street Station on the Northern Line of the London Underground.

The working class neighborhood is dominated by row upon row of apartment buildings.

 

Stepping inside the spacious studios, one might think they'd entered an abandoned

factory by mistake. However, large portraits of the cast members hanging from a wire

stretched along a wall and a bar crowded with theatergoers soon dispel this notion. Just

like the makeshift foyer, the theatre itself is a no-frills affair with the gallery constructed

from scaffolding and long, plain benches for the audience. At the back of the stage was

a huge, fissured brick wall that looked as though it had been ruptured by two opposing

forces -- very Shakespearean.

 

On Saturdays, the company gives two performances (as they will do on the Japan tour).

This is nothing unusual for British stage actors and Roache recalled having doubled up

on performances with another company. "Richard II" and "Coriolanus" use the same

stage, the only difference being that real turf is put down on the stage for "Richard."

Such sparseness of scenery makes great demands on the actors to fill the void.

 

 

 

Ralph Fiennes shows us a lighter Richard II, a king with a sense of humor whose

indecisiveness eventually loses him his crown to his cousin Bolingbroke, played by

Roache. We first see Richard as he comes onstage clad in white. In the background

can be heard a Gregorian chant. The play closely follows the original scenario and the

cast all wear period costumes. Kent uses the music and lighting effects -- ominous

sounds of pending tragedy and shafts of light that peer from the crack in the wall -- in

such a way so as to give the play its own rhythm. Roache appears on stage in

contrasting black, a cool, unruffled figure. In the scene where Richard hands his crown

over to Bolingbroke, Fiennes plays it like a spoiled aristocratic child having a toy taken

from him. Roache, meanwhile, maintains the demeanor of a man bent on excising his

political foes.

 

Coriolanus is set in Rome in the fifth century B.C. Again we see Fiennes and Roache as

rivals, but the play revolves mostly around the relationship between Coriolanus, played

by Fiennes, and his mother, a dominating woman played by veteran stage actress

Barbara Jefford. Fiennes give us an effeminate Coriolanus, who is by turns immature

and belligerent. His subordinates are often shocked by his outrageous behavior as he

becomes increasingly embroiled in conflict. The limited space in the theater does not

allow fighting scenes to be staged but Kent uses the sound of a heavy iron door closing

to remind us that the threat of battle is ever present. Though, overall, the play lacks

some vitality, it is worth the price of admission to see the performances of Fiennes and

Jefford.

 

 

 

Speaking with Roache, he talked about Kent's way of directing and how he decided to

prepare for his current roles.

 

"He prefers spontaneity," he said of Kent's approach. "We must be quick to move under

his direction, almost like this (snapping his fingers). I felt it was a fresh way to do

things." Regarding his playing opposite Fiennes, Roache said he decided to be more

reactive than aggressive.

 

"Of course, he and I had many discussions," said Roache. "But this time, I gave more

consideration to how to play my characters as foils to the characters he inhabits."

 

For many actors the task of memorizing the lines in a Shakespearean play is a daunting

task.

 

"The way to memorize them is almost the same as memorizing popular songs,"

explained Roache. "There is no difference. And, yes, I do sometimes worry about what

to do should my head become totally blank on stage."

 

Roache also spoke about other projects he is involved in.

 

"I love films," he said. "I just finished an Australian film and next I play Coleridge." An

open fan of the film "Matrix," he says he wants to appear in the sequel. The reason he is

so attracted to this high-tech thriller is presumably because of his belief in an Indian

religion that melds elements of Oriental and Western philosophy. He travels to India

every year to hear the teachings of his American guru. He also says he is keenly

interested in the upcoming tour of Japan.

 

"I am looking forward to visiting Japan, since I've missed the chance three times thus

far," he said.

 

Japanese audiences are in for a treat when the Almeida tours here as both of its main

stars are not only handsome but highly charismatic. The schedule of the Japan tour is

given below.

 

 

 

The Almeida

 

The theatre was established in 1990 under the leadership of Jonathan Kent and Ian

McDiarmid and has a reputation for staging top-notch productions featuring leading

actors, directors and designers. One of the theater's high points came in 1995 when

Fiennes won a Tony Award for his acting in an Almeida production of "Hamlet" under

Kent's direction.

 

 

 

Gainsborough Studios

 

During its heyday as a film studio, Gainsborough was home to young Alfred Hitchcock

and it was here that his filmmaking talents developed. Unfortunately, the studios are

dilapidated and are scheduled to be demolished to make way for an apartment building.

The Almeida chose the historical studio to put on the two plays over a four-mouth period

and transformed it into an extraordinary performance space. Before the start of

Almeida's Japan tour, its very first to this country, the group will head to Broadway in

New York.

 

**

 

Dates: Oct. 11-29 (1 and 7 p.m.).

 

Admission: 10,000 and 8,000 yen.

 

Venue: AKASAKA ACT THEATRE (accessible from #3 Exit of Akasaka Station of the

Chiyoda Line).

 

Information: Call HoriPro ticket booking center at (03) 3490-4949, (03) 5237-9999 or

(03) 5802-9999