Reviews

Artists: Tim Arnold
Venue: Almeida Theatre
Town: London
Date: 09 May 2010
Website: www.sonnet155.com

"One rock band. Two Opera singers. Three actors" all combined in Islington's Almeida Theatre for an only partial successful "provocative re-imagining of Shakespeare's themes through rock music and spoken word".

From the off, the performance is a measured piece: rock song is followed by an actor reading who, about three quarters of the way through the passage, is joined by violin and cello and then the full might of the rock band which leaves the actor almost fighting to be heard. As the songs finishes, the cycle begins again.

The variation of this was when text and song; actor and band combined such as "The Old King's Fool" which was inspired by a letter from Emma Thompson and had all three actors (Richard Briers, Paul McGann and Lisa Dillon) reading from King Lear as the band played. This merging of the spoken word and music was more effective than the rigidity of song - speech - song - speech.

The best parts of Tim Arnolds "Sonnet 155"; the wonderfully powerful, bombastic rock band complimented by the two opera singers; the readings of Hamlets "To be, or not to be ...", and Macbeths "Life is but a walking shadow …" ultimately show the weakness in this performance. The best gigs and the best plays share the common trait of the building and the releasing of tension but the structure of "Sonnet 155" made this virtually impossible.

After the rousing finale of "The Fall Of A Sparrow" the band, the singers and the actors take their bows to a standing ovation. Arnold returns to thank the cast and crew and is joined by Dillon for "Such Sweet Sorrow", a track on the album but one that did not make the main performance. It was this song where the text and music really worked together.

For all these criticisms, this was an enjoyable show; it is just that if it were to tour I would be unlikely to see it again.

The Jacket