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A Hostage to Fortune
Rhiannon Handy as Celia
and Henry Goodman as Volpone. Photo by Manuel Harlan
Volpone
Swan Theatre, Stratford upon Avon
*****
VOLPONE is clever; a cheeky hoarder with
a humourous agenda to keep every jewel and valuable item that he
possibly can.
Other characters loathe his scheming ways and
unprecedented wealth, while the audience love his mischievous character
and hilariously charming spirit.
In the beautifully engaging play by The Bard’s
famous companion, Ben Jonson, RSC legend Trevor Nunn directs with
majesty and creates a spectacular little world that is sure to bring a
smile to everyone’s face.
Set in a modern banker’s paradise, Volpone is a
figure to be envied. His set is a luxurious apartment, with everybody at
his disposal. The set gives a clear picture of the lifestyle of the rich
and famous. Above the stage we see figures of the stock market flashing
in front of us, for Volpone’s delight to keep on top of money, and his
homely set is drenched in finery.
A crisp white stage enhances the expensive and
lavish lifestyle and dotted around are material trinkets such as bars of
pure gold, jewels and other detailed finery. It was a beaut iful
addition and a trait that showed the love and detail that the design
team put into the production.
Volpone has everything he wants and more. Yet his
greed tells him that what he has is not enough. He wants everything at
his disposal and will stop at nothing to constantly grow his empire. In
a modern life of a wealthy elitist, perhaps a banker, the trickster
millionaire fakes his own sickness and death to gain more wealth.
Matthew Kelly as Corvino
Henry Goodman is the titled character and he
leads the show without a flaw. In the character of Volpone, Goodman is
truly special and makes the audience fall in love with him and
everything he does.
With the actor’s excellence and Jonson’s
humourous wit, there is a performance of sheer delight. Volpone plays
tricks on the most influential, by means of disguise and fakery. One
magnificent moment, which happened to be my favourite part of the
performance, was within Goodman’s disguise as Sotco, a flamboyant
Italian salesman in his scheme to seduce beautiful Celia.
In an impressive monologue, Goodman took command
of his playful character and had the audience in constant fits of
laughter. His Italian caricature and hilarious ad libs were a delight to
behold.
Of course, Volpone’s greedy world was not
complete without the peppering of humourous and jovial characters to
complete the comedy. A trio of equally rich gentlemen made up of actors
Matthew Kelly, Geoffrey Freshwater and Miles Richardson were the brunt
of Volpone tricks. Kelly was especially entertaining and was gripping to
see in scenes of a darker nature with his wife Celia, played by Rhiannon
Handy.
Nunn also makes sure to highlight Jonson’s darker
undertones within the play. Each character has an agenda to stop at
nothing to get richer and Johnson shows the lengths that people will
take purely for material gain. In a scene where Corvino (Kelly) offers
his wife as a token to Volpone, the heartache shown by Handy as Celia is
memorable. Nunn is tasteful and blends the sharp reality of greed
effortlessly into the comedy.
Jonson was an entertainer and it is clear in
Volpone that he learned and worked with the best of his time. Trevor
Nunn and the stellar cast do well to create a world of humourous
entertainment, with a strong and poignant message. The collective
company at the RSC create the unique world, with a stellar cast,
brilliant music and wonderful staging to create a night of delightful
comedy. To 12-09-15.
Elizabeth Halpin
20-08-15
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