The Royal Shakespeare Company sure knows how to dress up a production. Whether it be looming sets, dramatic lighting effects, or gripping lead actors, the company adds a sense of gravitas to even the lesser of Shakespeare’s works.
This is certainly the case for their commanding Coriolanus, now being staged at the Kennedy Center. Coriolanus isn’t the most layered of the Bard’s works – it has some interesting themes such as the danger of mob mentality, the consequences of unyielding pride, and the tensions between the people and their rulers, but it’s short on fully-defined characters, or profoundly human moments. Still, RSC’s refined take more than makes up for any inadequacies in the text.
Shakespeare’s Coriolanus is a great Roman fighter who initially is embraced by his country for his heroism. When he decides to take on a more political role, he arrogantly shirks from adopting the traditional humility required to gain public approval before ascending to power. Two scheming senators pounce on this flaw, stirring up public sentiment against the man enough to get him banished. Coriolanus leaves town, teams up with a former enemy (RSC stresses the homoerotic undertones of the relationship) and decides to storm Rome in revenge…unless his mother’s pleas can convince him otherwise.
This is William Houston’s show, and the man’s more than a center-stage presence – his booming, raspy voice squeezes every drop of outrage or hubris from Coriolanus’s words. Houston’s take is anything but subtle, but the interpretation befits the character – here, we are never spared from the almost laughable degrees of the guy’s arrogance, but we also see an admittedly larger than life man that we can easily imagine considering himself on a different plane than his plebian counterparts.
Houston is backed by a skilled ensemble, with standouts including Trevor White’s volatile rival Tullas Aufidius, and Timothy West’s even-keeled Menenius, often the voice of reason in a very unreasonable world. But it is the production value, though, that packs the most punch in Coriolanus. From expertly choreographed fight scenes, to jarring staccato scene changes, to the imposing effect of tall, battling shadows against a red background, the work is a staging marvel. With so many worthy producers of Shakespearean work in our neck of the woods, D.C. hardly has reason to feel schooled, but it’s still a pleasure to see how Will gets his due on the other side of the pond.
The show runs through May 6 in Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower theater. Tickets are available online.
