A clever premise and strong, engaging performance shone the spotlight on six of Shakespeare’s "minor" characters in local production You Won’t See Me on the Poster.
Devised and produced by the aunt and niece duo of performer Sarah Entwistle and director Kate Low, the 60-minute play ran for a short season, from Thursday-Saturday, at the New Athenaeum Theatre.
On arrival, theatre-goers were greeted with a black-curtained stage space, dotted with black-shrouded depictions of figures, each sporting costume elements and topped by head-like rice-paper lanterns.
This simple, effective staging allowed Entwistle to move swiftly between roles, using and discarding each piece of costuming as she presented each character.
With excellent use of physicality, facial expression and crystal-clear diction, Entwistle transformed into the drunken porter from Macbeth, the nurse from Romeo & Juliet, Quince from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the gravedigger from Hamlet, Constance from King John, and Feste from Twelfth Night, with a final cameo of Snug from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
It was intriguing to witness Entwistle’s impressive skill and understanding of the nature of each character and to reflect on their places in the wider pantheon of Shakespeare’s creations. At times, it might have been helpful if Entwistle and Low had expanded on the Bard’s own words as a means of exploring the characters’ inner life more fully.
Clever audio-visual elements, including recorded dialogue and sound-scapes helped to set the vignettes firmly in place.
All in all, You Won’t See Me in the Poster was an absorbing take on some little-seen — and often cut — figures from Shakespeare, deserving of their moment in the spotlight.
