In May 1611, at London’s Globe theatre, Shakespeare’s new play, The Winter’s Tale, reopened London theatres after they had been closed for a plague-induced lockdown of three years. How appropriate that the modern Globe is offering New Zealand audiences the chance to see the filmed version of their 2018 production now, as we carefully make our way out of our lockdown.  

This play is notable in many ways. People argue about how to categorise it. In the first publication it was listed among the comedies though the first half in Sicily is one of the most tragic in the whole canon. Maybe it’s best called a tragi-comedy since the scenes in Bohemia have got plenty of laughs, music and dance. It could also be called a Romance since, like several of the later plays, it incorporates magical, fairytale elements and a wonderful message of hope and reconciliation after dark times.

The play poses problems because its parts are so very different. We have the Sicilian court ruled by a king whose jealousy drives him to tyranny resulting in the death of son, wife and, very nearly, newborn daughter. Then the wild coast of Bohemia (a land-locked country) where a shipwreck and man-eating bear are immediately replaced by a sudden change to rustic comedy. After that we jump forward 16 years and find ourselves in the middle of a country sheep-shearing festival with young romance, a roguish pick-pocket, music, dance, disguise and intrigue. Finally it’s back to Sicily and the most magical of fairytale endings.

In this production, Director Blanche McIntyre and her Designer James Perkins relish the challenges and differences. Far from papering over the cracks they emphasise them – mainly by bold costume choices. The Sicilians of Leontes’ court dress in a sort of Italian medieval style – women in low-cut dresses, men in long gowns and trousers and there are swords and daggers. In the same scenes, Polixenes and the visiting Bohemians wear modern-day jackets and, when we move to the Bohemian countryside, we see backpacks, cell phones and English country caps, jackets and Wellington boots. I’m not convinced that these contrasting and anachronistic choices quite match the different worlds that the play presents – but perhaps, as an audience, we just accept them.

The main actors are all strong – especially the women. Priyanga Burford’s Queen Hermione is light and playful in the first scene, shocked when Leontes accuses her of adultery, and a great mix of controlled anger and dignity in her powerful courtroom speeches. There is a poignant moment after the oracle states she is innocent when she goes to console the husband who has abused her so badly – only to be shocked again by his rejection.

Sirine Saba makes a wonderful Paulina. Her attack on Leontes at the end of the trial scene – “What studied torments, tyrant, hast for me?” – is blistering. Unlike Dame Judy Dench in the Branagh Theatre’s 2015 production, Saba maintains her anger throughout this scene and when she says she is sorry for her words, it is with heavy and appropriate irony.

Leontes is played by Will Keen. From the first he seems distracted and a little unsettled and this bursts into a full-blown frenzy as his jealousy takes over and he moves constantly and fitfully about the large Globe stage. He delivers the difficult, late Shakespearean verse with great skill, making some of the Bard’s densest language clear and showing how perfectly it matches this man’s fractured mind.

In Bohemia Annette Badland as the Shepherd and Jordan Metcalfe as her son are both warmly comic.  The scenes with Becci Gemmell as the rogue Autolycus are rather underplayed. Autolycus is a character who can often dominate the second half of the play but in this production, she makes little impact and takes surprisingly few opportunities to interact with the Globe’s audience.

As is often the case the Globe staging is simple with few props and no furniture and for the most part this works well. There are a couple of odd choices: a strange, huge animal skull on stage for Rose Wardlaw’s speech as Time; and disappointingly the bear is shown as an abstract painting on a canvas that suddenly unfurls from the upstage gallery.

This production is nicely filmed and generally transfers well to the small screen. If you have never had the chance to see a production at the Globe – or at Auckland’s Pop-Up Globe (what will happen to that theatre’s international plans I wonder) – then this gives you a sense of how, in these theatres, Shakespeare’s plays are brought to life in the same setting as in his day. Of course, we lose the immediacy and spontaneity of interaction with a live audience. Comic scenes often show this.  In this play there are also many moments when suddenly the whole large audience holds its breath. The magical last scene of this play is such a moment. Although it is still special, it loses a little in translation to film.

It’s wonderful that the Globe is making these productions freely available around the world in our plagued time. Do yourself a favour and take the chance to see this strong production of an extraordinary play.  

See it here. 

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