It was because I loved it so much that I booked to see the RSC version of Maggie O'Farrells brilliant award winning novel. Although watching the first half I wished I had not bothered. Somehow the little dramas of family life of the Shakespeares and Hathaways were "lost in translation". Lolita Chakrabarti's has adapted a book that didn't need adapting, or this adaptation is not the one we wanted.
Fortunately, the second half was much, much better and far suited to a theatrical performance. Will is in London, gaining prominence as a playwright, and at home in Stratford Agnes's three children are growing up. Despite what critics thought to the contrary, I was happy to see the two locations share the same stage. And at last the crowd pleasing finale captured the essence of the book. But having said that, nothing could match the book's last ten pages.
I was not convinced by the actress playing the lead role of Agnes, or Anne Hathaway as we know her. Madeleine Mantock has a great body of work on TV, but her only second experience of the stage bordered on the second rate. Tom Varey was marginally better as William, but I could not help thinking this was a cheap cast. It was left to the two older members of the cast to shine. Peter Wight and Elizabeth Rider were exceptional.
Director Erica Wyman obviously worked hard with the younger members of the cast as the presentation and movement were all fine. One nice feature of the newly re-opened Swan Theatre was the brand new seats. One critic was pleasantly surprised with the change from the old uncomfortable ones and I had to agree.
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