On Theater: A love that’s lasted 900 years
The latest tenant (the word is used advisedly) at South Coast Repertory is the British import “Tristan & Yseult,” where generous amounts of farcical satire, embellished with a rock opera musical score, turn this legendary love story into a medieval three-ring circus.
Created by Britain’s Kneehigh company — based in the English district of Cornwall, where the legend was born back in the 12th century — “Tristan” borrows from history to create a lively, though often baffling, account of the story that has been told and retold from various European perspectives, the most familiar being Wagner’s opera “Tristan and Isolde.”
In the current version at SCR — revamped from the company’s original show a decade ago — the Arthurian-era tale remains somewhat intact, but the story is backed, and energetically so, by a group of glorified stagehands known as “Love Spotters” performing at the “Club of the Unloved.”
Love is, to be sure, the root theme of this exercise, imaginatively directed by its adaptor, Emma Rice, who shares Kneehigh’s artistic director duties with Mike Shepherd, here appearing as the Cornish King Mark. Once the Brits defeat the invading Irish, the king sends a French emissary (Tristan) to capture the Irish leader’s sister (Yseult) to become his queen.
A funny thing happens on the return voyage: Tristan and Yseult gulp a love potion that interlocks their hearts, even after Yseult and King Mark are wed. That would have proved tragic except for the king’s benevolence; rather than execute two people he loves, he banishes them.
At SCR, the titular lovers are played with unbridled enthusiasm by Dominic Marsh and Hannah Vassallo, and their youthful passion and energy ignite the production. While Marsh is properly staunch and heroic, Vassallo employs her charm and balletic grace to virtually float about the stage.
Shepherd’s King Mark is an imposing figure whose bark proves to be far worse then his bite. Thus, he may be both feared and revered, and this veteran actor accomplishes this dual feat splendidly.
The show’s mysterious narrator, Whitehands — Kirsty Woodward, dressed all in white — seems at first a bit of a supernumerary, but her character comes into fuller focus late in the show, as the legend dictates. Damon Daunno scores as a comical villain taking risque (and risky) photos of the young lovers, ostensibly to gain favor with the king.
Niall Ashdown steals a goodly portion of the action dressed in drag as a “lady in waiting” for the new queen. He also enjoys a more macho assignment early in the show as the defeated leader of the Irish invaders.
The deceptively simple setting by Bill Mitchell is transformed into various required playing areas with ease. The “Unloved” band members, all garbed in hoodies, provide a stirring musical accompaniment under the direction of composer Stu Barker.
Aside from imparting a medieval history lesson, however skewed, “Tristan & Yseult” radiates the energy and imagination of today’s live theater. It’s a richly detailed literary roller coaster ride from England with love at South Coast Repertory.
TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot.
*
IF YOU GO
What: “Tristan & Yseult”
Where: South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.
When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays until Feb. 22
Cost: Starts at $22
Information: (714) 708-5555 or https://www.scr.org
