The Winter's Tale

My neighbour very kindly gave me some tickets for The Winter's Tale at the Old Vic. I hadn't read or seen the play before but I must say I really enjoyed it. The first half is a tragedy of jealousy set at the Sicilian court and the second half is largely a comedy of rustics in the Bohemian countryside. It has notable elements of Oedipus: in each play the king is told that his child will fulfil an oracle. Both kings refuse to believe the oracle and both arrange to have the children killed. Both children (Oedipus and Perdita) are saved by shepherds and in both cases the oracle is fulfilled but in Oedipus' case there is a terrible outcome whereas in Perdita's case there is reconciliation and joy.

The production by Sam Mendes is part of the Bridge Project, a Sam Mendes-Kevin Spacey joint venture so half the actors are British and half American. Simon Russell Beale, Leontes, King of Sicilia, was the best British actor and I thought the best American was Ethan Hawke who played Autolycus, the thieving peddlar. He played the guitar and sang the Shakespearean lyrics in a very modern American style: bravo!