Pericles, Prince of Tyre

One of the great theatrical experiences of my life was the production of Pericles, directed by Toby Robertson for the Jean Cocteau Repertory in New York City. It won the OBIE for 1981. It was fast paced; the actors enunciated and understood what the lines meant. In contrast, the BBC production drags, and the actors garble the lines. Almost all of the dialogue in Pericles is in poetry -- pentameter. A few of the minor actors did a good job, but most of them broke up the lines and attempted to substitute emotion for meaning. They would speak in a low voice, then yell, then sob, all the while making facial expressions only vaguely related to what they were trying to say. They were trying to ACT, when they should have been trying, above all, to speak their lines effectively. One of the great "recognition" scenes in Shakespeare is that between Pericles and Marina, where he questions her and realizes that she is his daughter, whom he had long thought was dead. In the Jean Cocteau Repertory production, Pericles and Marina were standing, facing each other. They delivered their lines simply and clearly. The effect was shattering. Everyone in the audience, including me, was in tears. In the BBC production, Pericles's face is covered with tears, and he is almost out-of-control with emotion, before he even gets into the dialogue. His words can hardly be understood. Marina is weak. The whole episode falls flat. Pericles is very different from all of the other Shakespeare plays, but it is a great play if directed incisively, with actors who can do justice to the words. I enjoyed seeing Pericles again, but it could have been much better.