In the performing arts, timing is everything. If The Royal Shakespeare Company’s version of “Coriolanus,” with its striking direction, impressive sets, impeccable acting, and powerful leading man, had turned up at the Kennedy Center at any other time, it would have been a major highlight of the theatrical season.
Instead, it had the bum luck to show up at the tail-end of the Shakespeare in Washington festival; a festival that has proven that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. As a result, despite how accomplished this “Coriolanus” is, it still has a kind of “been there, done that” feel to it, which is a shame because, if nothing else, this presentation shows that, when it comes to performing Shakespeare, nobody does it with the authority and self-assurance of the Brits.
Roman general Coriolanus (William Houston), who has just won a decisive victory against the Volscian army, is being groomed by his friends and mother, Volumnia (Janet Suzman), for a post-military career as a statesman. The main problem is that, as a man of action, Coriolanus has no patience for political glad-handing or winning over the general populace with platitudes.
Two would-be leaders, Sicinius (Fred Ridgeway) and Brutus (Darren Tunstall), turn the citizens against Coriolanus with Marxist rhetoric denouncing him as a snob and a fascist. When he is exiled from Rome, Coriolanus, seething with resentment, offers himself as a hired gun to his former enemy, the Volscian army commander Tullus Aufidius (Trevor White).
As mentioned before, this production has many assets, not the least being Gregory Doran’s strong direction, but the main attraction here is the commanding (in more ways than one) performance of Houston in the title role. Looking and sounding much like a young Peter O’Toole, Houston has an overpowering stage presence that completely dominates the play.
“Coriolanus” is the last Royal Shakespeare Company production to play the Kennedy Center under its five-year contract. So, if you haven’t OD’d on the Bard already, you might want to take advantage of this opportunity to see a first-rate presentation by one of the world’s most celebrated theater troupes.
If you go
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of “Coriolanus” runs through May 6
» Venue: The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater, Washington
» Performances: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday
» Tickets: $25 to $78
» More info: 202-467-4600 or www.kennedy-center.org
