Review: WYRD SISTERS, Deep End Theatre Company, The Playhouse Theatre, Cheltenham

I will confess that, prior to curtain-up, I had only vague notions about this play. The sixth of Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld® books doesn’t translate all that smoothly to the stage, and anyone unfamiliar with this series of novels might be forgiven for not fully fathoming out the plot of Stephen Briggs’ complex adaptation. The allusions to the Scottish Play are blindingly obvious, but beyond that, the demands placed on the average spectator to make sense of it all are considerable, once the unrelenting smoke has cleared. Whilst highly effective and beautifully lit - I half-expected phantom faces to appear through the mists - the suffocating columns of dry ice briefly assumed volcanic proportions, at one point completely smothering half the audience. But they proved a hardy crew, and whilst they may have shared my early fears that this wasn’t going to be Deep End’s finest hour, their perseverance paid dividends, and the enjoyment factor remained constant. Even so, the pace was decidedly leaden at times, with an awful lot of slack between scenes. Shining through the dense fog, however, were robust performances from the three witches, notably principal anchor Sharon Villiers as the articulate and matriarchal Granny Weatherwax. Marie Kennedy injected a cauldronful of Irish impishness as the cackling Nanny Ogg, whilst Kelly Jenkins-Shaw sparkled as the wide-eyed, sweetly coquettish Magrat, and her touching tryst with the king’s fool, endearingly played by Lloyd Spencer, was a particular highlight. Meanwhile, caricaturing every Shakespeare villain there has ever been, the resonant and assured Ben Perkins provided considerable backbone and hilarity as the devious and highly-strung Duke Felmet. Indeed, there was plenty to amuse throughout, especially during the engaging play-within-a-play sequence, and precisely how much of the final scene on that blasted heath stayed true to the script, with red wine flying in all directions and even the prompts turned to witty advantage? Almost a case of saving the best for the end, but for all its imperfections, there was still enough to savour in this bold production by one of the Playhouse’s seriously innovative troupes.

Simon Lewis