ALL's WELL THAT ENDS WELL
by William Shakespeare

presented by Demi-Paradise Productions

The Shire Hall etc,
Lancaster Castle
10 – 27 March 2004

Reviewed by Michael Nunn

This is a play I do not know very well, and in fact have never read it. It is reckoned by many not to be on Shakespeare's ‘A' list. Nor have I seen theatre inside a castle before, nor taken part in ‘promenade theatre', which seems to be fashionable these days.

So I didn't really know what to expect, save that this would be the fourth annual appearance of Demi-Paradise Productions in Lancaster Castle, and that tickets were almost impossible to obtain. Must be something good, evidently, I thought.

It was rather more than that - it was wonderful. Using the dramatic spaces of the courts side of the Castle, some of which are not regularly seen (no venturing into HMP territory or the deeper, dustier enclaves), the play unfolded in the old court room and proceeded through Hadrian's Tower, the Shire Hall itself, and the dungeons.

What ingenious use of space to highlight the different centres of action! The moving to and fro between locations, far from being wearisome, emphasised an entirely proper sense of journey and movement throughout the story.

Whilst this placed a limit of some sixty spectators for each performance, it had the supreme advantage of intimacy and closeness to the characters such as I have never experienced before, not even in theatre in the round. The audience could be at one moment stood next to the French aristocrats on the balcony in the well of the tower whilst they were declaiming down at both other cast members and audience below alike.

Earlier in the evening, one could have been sat next to the Countess of Rossillon in the court as she expressed her anxieties, or, later, jammed up to the rostrum in the Shire Hall as the Widow and her Daughter in Florence were having their fun. Then, too, we were among the squaddies as they humiliated the garrulous Parolles in the dungeons. And throughout, we could all be spectators in the formal judicial arenas which were so effectively used as such for the courtly scenes.

In this respect alone, here was theatre of a different, and very well thought out nature. But there was more. Director Ian Blower, Production Manager Jane Butterworth and Producer Stephen Tomlin relied not on setting or promenade alone for the complete dramatic experience. Their excellent cast – all professionals, local and otherwise – were sumptuously dressed, delivered the verse with commendable clarity, and moved in well-tuned response to each other, the audience and the glorious setting.

A production like this, with a cast of such calibre, admirably directed and produced, in such a building, can turn even one of Shakespeare's less successful texts into an evening I shall not forget in a long time (and I write this some time after the performance). I do like this drama on the hoof notion – it surely has its roots in mediaeval street theatre, town pageant and the commedia dell'Arte.

My only concerns were:
(i) wouldn't it have been a marvellous treat for those incarcerated elsewhere in the building (why should they not be entertained, exhilarated and possibly even educated too?), and
(ii) why they didn't have a longer run, so more could have gone to see it. After all, some of their sponsors are not short of a bob or two …

What's it to be next year? Can't Demi-Paradise do something else before next March?

Copyright © 21 May 2004 Michael Nunn