Dedication (Nuffield)

Okay so the set is similar to A Number. An in the round staging that expands onto the stage. Everyone isn't split up into groups and sent into desperate rooms

It did mean that there was some lengthy queues into the theatre though

The stage consists of revolving and raising mirrored floors and pillars

The difference is that A Number is a play with something to say. This comes off more as a vanity project than anything

The play starts with Tom McKay as Shakespeare on trial after the Essex rebellion, being questioned about his relationship with the earl of Southampton, played by Tom Rhys Harries

Shakespeare says that history keeps revolving and changing whilst Southampton revolves around him flashing in and out.

And that sets up the structure of the play. We are given three different versions of the relationship. First as pals. Second as patron and writer. And third as lovers

And cue the unbuttoning of the doublets and dressing up in dresses. Some will be pleased to hear that Tom Rhys Jones strips down to his pants

😜

For the first half the play wasn't going anywhere revolving round these two stories. Then it gets down to the nitty gritty of these different relationships and by the time we get back to the trial you wonder what Shakespeare is

A catholic who wants to stay in hiding

A playwright who gets short thrift from Southampton

Or perhaps a deceiver who has been acting all along

And then the play cops out by choosing one of the different relationships. No prizes for guessing which

Instead of staying ambiguous the problem is two-fold

One you wish the story chooses was the only focus of the play and given more depth

Two, the other two versions are made pointless. Though I could see it coming since the chosen version was given special emphasis over the others

Nice set, fantastic acting, some technical and audibility problems, the play has itmoments but nothing else