The Mandrake

The Mandrake closed last night at the Gallery Theatre at the Havana Restaurant.  It is an adaptation of the 1519 play “Mandragola” by Niccolo Machiavellli. A thoughtful review of The Mandrake can be found at:

http://beyondyvr.wordpress.com/2014/10/09/review-the-mandrake-at-havana-restaurants-gallery-theatre/

I only wish to add a handful of personal observations.

First, reducing the cast to two performers was not wholly successful.  Using costumes (usually a coat or jacket) to differentiate the various characters only worked to a point.  In scenes involving three or more characters, at times it was difficult to know which of the characters was speaking.  Moreover, the costumes themselves might have been more distinctive to assist the audience in more quickly identifying and distinguishing the characters.  Having the same character, at different times, played by both performers required that characterization remained relatively superficial.

It is interesting that the original casting call for The Mandrake was in the following terms: “We are looking for 4 performers to appear in our first production, an adaptation of The Mandrake by Machiavelli, staged at the Havana Theatre 7-12 oct”.

[See the July 17 entry in the Pandora Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/theatrepandora ]

What prompted the decision to move from four to two performers in this production is uncertain but its wisdom is questionable.  In my view it would have been a more satisfying experience if two actors had been cast in the two main roles, and two others multiple-cast in the remaining roles.

The adaptation of the play itself worked quite well.  It appeared to take as its starting point a 2009 translation by Nerida Newbigin.  It preserved the “feel” of renaissance Italian while remaining friendly to a modern English-speaking audience.

In adapting the play, one change that might have been considered is the elimination of a sub-plot involving the hero’s faithful servant and a tavern keeper.  It added nothing to the main action.

These quibbles aside The Mandrake was well worth attending and provided Vancouver audiences with an opportunity to see this rarely-performed work.