My wife and I went to see a production by Headlong Theatre of Salome by Oscar Wilde at the Theatre Royal Brighton last night. It. Was. Just. Awful.

First off we have the image used on the poster promoting the play. To us this suggested a roaring twenties decadence. Our mistake to assume that the imagery used to promote the play actually had anything to do with the production or that the person in the image was actually one of the performers. If you set an expectation it is a poor decision to fall below it. The next immediately obvious problem that should have been fixed in casting was that apart from Jaye Griffiths as Herodias none of the rest of the cast could either act or were suitable to play the interpretation of the role they were in. Con O'Neill, "one of Britain's most exciting theatre actors" according to the blurb, as Herod could have been interesting as a despot with a Napoleon complex. As it was he just couldn't hit the notes the role demanded. He shouted. He showered the rest of the performers in a non-stop barrage of spittle. He over-acted in a way that made us embarrassed to a point of being unable to watch. Zawe Ashton, playing Salome, was similarly poor, a "star of tomorrow" according to Screen International she exhibited no star characteristics. The idea of playing Salome as a spoiled teenager should have remained just that; the juxtaposition of the description of her as "... like a dove that has strayed . . . . She is like a narcissus trembling in the wind . . . . She is like a silver flower" with the coarse and unrefined character as portrayed fell flat. The Dance of the Seven Veils, performed here as a fumbled striptease, was the prime example of ideas that you could see the reasoning behind but just did not deliver the requisite emotional impact.

 

Ultimately the failure of the production arises from a series of logical but inappropriate directorial decisions by Jamie Lloyd that add up to an interpretation that grates on the eyes and ears. The language has been obscured by yelling, the lightness of touch that would contrast with the horror we end up experiencing is reduced to incoherence by the heavy-handed execution of set, costume and acting. Where the direction deviates so markedly from the text it takes real ability to play-off these differences, something not in evidence here. Avoid.

 

There's a better written review over here by Webcowgirl that goes into more detail if you'd like to know more.