THEATRE REVIEW: TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
11 Aug'10

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 4 out of 5

STRATFORD -- If THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA was, as some believe, the first-ever play penned by an aspiring young playwright from Stratford-upon-Avon, then clearly, that playwright -- one William Shakespeare by name -- wasn't going to be troubled overmuch in subsequent work by the sophomore curse. TWO GENTS, in other words, was not going to be a tough act to follow, for even while there are flashes of what would later be recognized as Shakespeare's almost dizzying way with words here, this is a play that has never been considered one of his greatest or best.

And while most people agree its lack of regard is rooted in an ending that is as abrupt as it is unkind to its heroines, director Dean Gabourie is more inclined to write off this failure to thrive as a case of simple misunderstanding. Gabourie, it seems, believes that most of us look at the work in the wrong light by considering it a mere comedy, subscribing instead to a thesis advanced years ago by one Bernard Shaw, who suggested in reviewing a turn of the century production, that the work was "a vaudeville," which is a completely different kettle of fish.

To that end, in the Stratford Festival's latest production of the work, which opened Tuesday in the Studio Theatre, Gabourie and his collaborators impose not just an early 20th century feel on the proceedings, as Shakespeare's two young swells from Verona wreak havoc in the court of Milan, but specifically, an early 20th century movie feel. All of which means that, even though one suspects Shaw was dismissing the work as more a variety show than a play, Gabourie et al have used his remark as reason to serve up a production stuffed chock-full of whimsical silent-era celluloid references to everybody from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to W.C. Fields and the Keystone Kops. In the process, they suggest that Shakespeare might not only be considered the father of modern theatre, but of United Artists as well. And, all in all, it's an interesting premise, although that premise doesn't quite stretch to cover the entire running time of the play.

Dion Johnstone and Gareth Potter are strongly, impressively cast as Valentine and Proteus, the TWO GENTLEMEN of title -- and while it is the former who first heads off for Milan, it is the latter who has lingered in Verona for the love he bears fair Julia (Sophia Walker), who really upsets the Milanese applecart by his arrival.

For despite his parting protestations of undying love for his beloved Julia, Proteus promptly falls madly in love with the equally fair Silvia (Claire Lautier), undeterred either by the fact that she has been promised to another by her father (John Vickery in broad Barrymore mode), or that she is already both beloved by and in love with Valentine.

Of course, chaos on a Shakespearean level ensues, egged on by the young men's respective servants, the aptly named Speed (played by Bruce Dow), and the melancholy Launce (Robert Persichini) demonstrating an impressive ability to channel W.C. Fields, yet upstaged at almost every turn by a beagle named Otto (cast as Launce's faithful companion, Crab).

With strong work from its principals and a supporting cast that includes Trish Lindstrom, Wayne Best, Stephen Russell, Andrew Gillies and a host of others, it is good fun, at least until it all starts to wear more than a little thin. In the end, not only does the imposed faux vaudeville patina do little to disguise the shortcomings of a playwright who was understandably a little shy of achieving his full potential in this work, it underscores the fact that the whole concept finally seems to have more to do with good distraction than good direction.