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| Sandy Grierson as Angelo and Lucy Phelps as Isabella in the poster for Measure For Measure. Photo taken from the RSC website: https://www.rsc.org.uk/measure-for-measure |
There was not a weak member among the cast - all spoke their lines beautifully and every character was explicitly clear, but I will give you my top three:
- Sandy Grierson was fantastic in his role as Angelo. I imagine it must be extremely challenging to enter into such a controversial role, knowing that the audience could easily be triggered by your character's speech and behaviour.
- Lucy Phelps had her moment to shine as Isabella, and, for the first time, I found myself really liking the character. She is a complex character to play, and the religious side to her can easily be over-done, but I felt that Phelps found the perfect balance and presented an Isabella that we would not only want to support, but also befriend. Her reaction to the Duke's final marriage proposal was a simple expression, and one of extreme pain, but it was enough that I wanted to run and hug her and protect her from the nasty Duke. Phelps is definitely an actress to watch.
- Last, but certainly not least, is Joseph Arkley, who took on the role of Lucio. He stole the show whenever he was on stage, bringing an immense energy to the role. His Lucio was extremely gentlemanly and dignified, and totally oblivious to his impact on others around him. What really stood out for me, however, was the sheer difference to his Shrew part, in which he played the abused Kate as male role (see my previous blog here: https://lilliteraturereviews.blogspot.com/2019/06/rsc-live-taming-of-shrew-050619.html). Like Phelps, Arkley is definitely an actor to watch out for in the future.
