by Daniel Cassar
La Mama at Trades
Hall until July 16, 2000
Reviewer: Kate
Herbert
Pirandello wrote Six Characters in Search of an Author. In
Shakespeare's Last Super, Daniel Cassar has twelve characters in search of
their playwright who happens to be Shakespeare. It is an effective theatrical
conceit.
In this 90-minute play, we witness various unrelated
characters from five of Shakespeare's plays, rambling aimlessly through a
forest in order to attend a feast give by an anonymous "host".
A crazed Macbeth (Cassar) pursues Fleance, (Chris Kennett)
the rightful heir to the throne. Macbeth is, in turn, hounded by three witches.
(Candice Taylor, Sarah Nicholson, Megan Searle)
A belligerent Romeo (Michael Burkett) and his childish Juliet (Melissa
Parente) try to avoid detection by disguising their identities.
The self-centred Hamlet (Craig Madden) attempts to seduce
Juliet. Weak-willed Antonio (Andrew Thomson) travels with a domineering Portia,
(Marian Haddrick) now his bride, and they meet their nemesis, Shylock. (Don
Bridges) Puck (Darren Carmichael) taunts the lot of them.
The play is too long by about 30 minutes, but it has some
clever dialogue, witty physical business and very committed performances from a
cast of predominantly recent graduates. Three known professional actors appear
amongst them.
Bridges as Shylock is powerful and Carmichael is a comical
and acrobatic Puck. Haddrick's Portia is a fine shrew.
Cassar endeavours to address some interesting issues about
the characters confronting their inner demons and facing the fact that they
exist only because Will wrote them. The issues raised are never quite resolved
and there is an even better draft of this play lurking within.
It would be satisfying to see Shakespeare and his creations
deal thoroughly with their existential dilemmas and character flaws. Antonio
and Portia's anti-Semitism has a potentially more complex texture. There is
great potential in the fragility of the child bride and groom , Romeo and
Juliet and also in the exploration of a spirit, Puck, who discovers he is a
mere mortal.
The performances are good and the show has great colour,
energy and a sense of ensemble. The pseudo-Elizabethan dialogue works most of
the time although there is some clumsy non-Elizabethan grammar that clangs
loudly on stage
By Kate Herbert
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