Imperium - RSC

For reasons to complex to explain I had to be out of the house all day and into the night, so I bit the bullet and saw it all and I have to say it was everything I feared.

I think the play was so busy trying not be boring that it ended up being merely cheeky and superficial. Other than McCabe, Kloska a few others, the performances were all strictly B or less. And while I appreciated the challenges that Anthony Ward faced in designing this epic play, I felt that the set looked as if it were for an awards ceremony in ancient Rome and the costumes were drab and pulled from stock. And speaking of stock Paul Englishby's incidental music sounds as if it came from an old generic music library on LP. All of this of course lands at the feet of Gregory Doran who seems to be doing his best to lower the standards of the RSC with each passing play. While I think the audience enjoyed part one by the end of Part Two almost a third of the stalls seemed to be empty. And that usual exhilarating feeling after a 7 hour epic was noticeably lacking.

Maybe it has suffered from the transfer to London - we really enjoyed both parts in the much smaller confines of the Swan in Stratford

Well, I made it through to the end! Not too awful actually - the second play is not as good as the first, and really sags in the middle, and the female characters in both parts are underused. I had the usual difficulty keeping everyone straight because I have a shocking memory for names and there’s just so many of them turning up for a bit and then wandering off again for ages. You really feel the loss of Peter De Jersey so early in part 2.

But overall they were just about engaging enough to keep me awake for the duration.

Ralph Fiennes will soon be giving us a Mark Antony at the National. I wonder if he studied Joe Dixon's interpretation.

Good God, one would hope not.

But did the late great Leonard Rossiter ever play Mark Antony? Because if so I think we can safely say that's what we'll see from Ralph at The Nash.

Well after surviving the 7hr marathon day today, what can be said considering that I went in cold with not having read the novel prior to seeing the performance? Talk about a play having two completely contrasting tones. Part 1 was something straight out of a Carry On film or an episode of the 70s tv show Up Pompeii. How you are supposed to take anything seriously when it’s seemingly played for laughs? Any political drama that was present in Part 1 was completely lost because of this and I now get why a number of people who have posted comments about Part 1 decided not to bother with the second instalment. I think all that was missing was having the late great Frankie Howard on stage passing some comments every now and then. Though because it was presented in such a comical way, it did make the 3.5hrs go pretty quickly.  Have to say, the head in the pan at the end of Act 2 was certainly interesting and got a response from the audience. Personally, I found that a great ending.

With Part 2, if I hadn’t known, it might as well have been directed by a completely different director such was the contrast in its overall presentation with a much more darker and mature tone. Ok, there where a few laughs, and the odd sly Brexit reference, but because Part 1 was done the complete opposite way, if kind of felt an uneven piece because of it. Either stay with the comedy or play it straight throughout to keep it balanced. Though while the tone was uneven, the fact that the plot was broken down into separate plays was a great help as it allowed the story to be followed a lot more easily with the large number of different characters.

Richard McCabe was absolutely brilliant and the fact that he was barely off stage the entire time is a remarkabke feat. Though I must say, Joe Dixon’s Mark Anthony character really didn’t offer much in terms of a threat in the drama considering it was played for laughs and at times I thought he came across as too much of an idiot rather than as a military man. I imagine Ralph Feinnes will not be taking this approach at the NT in a few weeks time, I thought the other cast members gave strong performances alongside McCabe.

While I had hoped for a more serious drama today, I’m glad I saw it, even with its faults. Being sat in the Grand Circle G18 gave me a great overall view of the stage, and having an isle seat was greatly welcomed with having a bit more space to stretch the legs. Overall, an interesting play in a day experience, but for me the weakest one in contrast to Angels, the Inheritance and Harry Potter which I also did as day events.