I love going to the theatre and I absolutely love NT Live doing plays but sometimes it's hit and miss. This Shakespearian play was definitely a miss. Timed at over 2h30min, with no interval, I steadied myself for an experience which was shattered in the first few minutes of the play.
I don't understand who thought it would be a good idea to do the final play in a "rehersal" format? The actors were wearing jeans and sneakers, t-shirts and sportswear and I can see that no money was spent on the decor either.
Shakespeare with no costumes, no props and 4 buckets with tags on them: Blood, water, soil and one other. The Blood gets thrown over the two people who were representing the counties who were defeated in the civil war.
The blood pooled on the stage and people acting had to walk around it or sit in it.. It was awful!
I understand when sometimes the decor is optional - that it might distract from the main story or plot lines or distract from the acting. I've seen Dogville with Nicole Kidman and seen enough Lars von Trier to understand symbolism. But this - this was appalling.
The play lines were delivered in rapid-fire, with no feeling put behind the words and I had to struggle to understand what was being said. I glazed over many, many times and would occasionally grab a bit of Shakespeare to still make me feel that I was watching a play.
Walked out after the first hour, frustrated with the experience and wanting a refund for my wasted time.
Don't watch this. The producer gives a massive middle finger to the audience, letting it watch something that does not look any different from a rehersal and so low budget that it makes me think community theatre rather than a production which cost me £9 with my Cineworld card (£25 otherwise)
