A WINTER'S TALE

Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory

Bristol

In only a couple of years, Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory have established an enviable reputation as one of the most exciting theatre companies in the country. With a volley of critical accolades and an Empty Space Peter Brook Award to bolster them, it is unavoidable that expectations are high for this season. Unrealistically high, perhaps. As a result, over-excited audiences will find themselves in for something of a disappointment, simply because the company's staging of The Winter's Tale fails to achieve the sublime perfection which has characterised their previous four productions.

It is difficult to pinpoint where the magic has gone. To some extent the problem may lie in the fact that The Winter's Tale is simply one Shakespeare work which does not play to the strengths of director Andrew Hilton or his company. As a director, Hilton is a master at stripping away the artifices, devices and posturing which so often characterise Shakespearean acting. Instead of a 'big idea' or - God help us - a 'concept', he delivers well-considered, beautifully analysed chamber theatre productions. His strength lies is allowing the audience to rediscover the story beneath the classic, to enable jaded audience's to discover a Shakespeare as vivid and rich as tonight's television drama. Meanwhile, the company's actors have a knack for bringing freshness and naturalism to the parts with lines delivered as true dialogue rather than declaimed 'theatrically'.

But Shakespeare has jammed this particular play with so much plot that there's little room for a director to bring out subtle nuances. The low calorie flourishes of courtly language intended purely for public consumption which litter the scenes also prevent the actors from providing the sense of the character as a real person which has made past productions such a pleasure. The only actor to truly escape from this is Chris Donnelly, whose Autolycus is a masterpiece of comic acting which earns him an ovation on every exit. With the script hampering their artistic movement at every turn, all that cast and director can do is deliver a workman-like Winter's Tale which is by far the least digestible of all Hilton's stagings at the Tobacco Factory so far.

Yet by most standards, this is a good production. If this were Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory's first ever venture, one would come away thinking that it had been a competent performance by a competent company which compared well with many stagings of the Bard. However, Hilton and his team have set such a high standard with their first four productions that one is left with a lingering sense of disappointment. For a company of this quality, "good" is simply not good enough.

TOBY O'CONNOR MORSE

Runs until 16 March 2002 Box office (0117) 902 0344