National Theatre Live: Coriolanus (2014) Reviews

• Tom Tyrannical

  StellaEtoil2015-01-13

  Even if you were a liberal arts major it's easy to skip over this Shakespeare gem, but read Coriolanus and it will contend as a favorite. So I'm lauding the whole production but just for a moment let's talk about Tom Hiddleston and recall the roles he played in the preceding years. TH is an actor who skyrocketed to fame playing egoists, and his roles stand in contrast to the figure he presents in real life. This is a man who's led a privileged life but is quick to explain that the opportunities he's been afforded are an accident of birth. Here I paraphrase, but TH has modestly stated that he found an affinity for languages (e.g. Greek) because he was afforded a chance to study them, and ideally, any child should be presented with the same opportunity. We're talking about a lead actor with an impressive educational pedigree who believes in equality, but man is it fun to see him inhabit the skin of proto-fascist Coriolanus. Just as it's a gas to see him as Loki trying to take over the world, or Hal struggling to transform into Henry. Caius Martius Coriolanus is a difficult role for any actor; the character is a poor politician. Tom delivers in a big way.

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• Can a play this old really have spoilers?

  raven_guest2014-02-07

  Fan girls aside, this version of Corio has garnered a lot of positive reviews and attention - and all of it is earned. Not being a regular theatre goer, I was worried about seeing this play for many reasons - not understanding it etc, but there is something so accessible about this version of Corio that will appeal to most. The space is very small and used to great effect. Props are minimal and not wasted for a second, along with the inspired use of trance style music and projections that add atmosphere without being 'gimmicky'. The costumes are unobtrusive in the sense that they fit the purposes without taking attention from the scenes themselves. The cast as stellar. My personal favourites (besides my beloved Mr. H) have to be without a doubt the four actors that play multiple roles; Mark Stanley, Rochenda Sandall (why is this woman not get more credit?!?), Dwane Walcott, Jacqueline Boatswain. They play multiple roles effortlessly and leave their mark in each one. Humour is used for good effect in this play - the thought that a tragedy of this political subject matter could be dull worried me, but the comic relief did lighten things and made the sad events all that more affecting. I won't mention the leads as they have had their props in all the media reviews - and deservedly so! I will be interested to see Hadley Fraser get more recognition as he is a force to be reckoned with as Tullus Aufidius. Watch this if you have the chance, it is amazing, breath taking and heart breaking. Mr. H shows he is more than capable of leading roles, and work such as this will allow him to step out from under Loki's vast shadow.

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• Josie Roukee's adaptation of William Shakespeare's Coriolanus.

  morrison-dylan-fan2014-02-06

  31st October 2013: Originally expecting to see trailers for upcoming films as I waited for Danny Boyle's tremendous Frankenstein,I instead got the chance to see trailers for other National Theatre Live titles.Finding most of the shows/films to look a bit too twee,I was greatly intrigued by the final trailer for an extremely grim William Shakespeare's Called Coriolanus. Due to the trailer showing clips of Coriolanus, (which is one of the few Shakespeare plays to have been banned in recent history,due to the Fascist element of the story leading to it being banned in post-WWII Germany and a production in France being shut down after causing a number of riots)I was disappointed that I had missed out on such an interesting looking movie. January 2014: Thankfully,I soon found out that this particular adaptation of Coriolanus was coming back to the big screen,which led to me getting ready to witness the rise of Coriolanus. The plot: Rioting takes place all across Rome due to a corn shortage that has led to the politician's limiting the distribution of corn so that none of the 'plebs' can get a mouthful of the commodity.Viewing soldiers as being worthy of receiving corn,a powerful Roman general called Caius Marcius finds himself facing a backlash from the public,due to him joining with the rich & powerful,instead of staying loyal to his roots.Ignoring leading politician Agrippa Menius Lanatus attempts to calm the matter down,Maricus decides,that just before he is to leave for a huge battle,that he will put the public in their place,by telling them that due to them not having served in the military,that they don't deserve a single grain of corn. Returning from a battle which led to Rome defeating one of its oldest enemies,Marcius finds all of the politician's and 'plebs' that he's always hated celebrating his proud return,with Marcius being given the official nickname of 'Coriolanus'.Excited over seeing how close to power her son is getting,Coriolanus's mum begins suggesting to her son that it might be good for him to run for a seat in the government in the upcoming election.Initially wishing to not pay any attention to mum's desires,'Coriolanus' soon begins to realise that getting a grip on the political nerves of Rome,will finally give him a chance to crush all of the politician's and 'plebs' who stand in his way. View on the film: Peeling away the more animated side which he had displayed in the fun 2011 Comic book epic Thor,Tom Hiddleston gives an incredibly detailed performance as Coriolanus.Showing Coriolanus's hatred of the public and the politician's right from the start,Hiddleston gradually shows the troubling psychological effects of Coriolanus entering the spotlight,with Coriolanus's strong military stance being one that is hardened by each shred of power that he grips,which leads to Hiddleston brilliantly showing Coriolanus become a Fascist,as he starts to realise the power of his public persona. Joining Hiddleston,Birgittte Hjort Sorensen, (who has battled with Danish politics in the TV series Borgen) gives a fantastic,quiet performance as Coriolanus's wife Virgila,with Sorensen giving Virgila a sense of unease,as she finds herself struggling to deal with Coriolanus's craving for power.Giving the film a flamboyant edge,Mark Gatiss gives an excellent performance as Lanatus,with Gatiss showing Lanatus to be someone who is willing to do anything that will increase his popularity or power,even if it may,inadvertently lead to his downfall. Whilst the 250-seat Donmar Warehouse theatre does appear to offer a real intimacy for the stage version,director Josie Rourke disappointingly lets some of the intimacy slip out of the filmed edition by using wide shots in some of the movies most powerful scenes which clearly show the audience in the background,which leads to a gap between the stage and the screen. Limited to one set,Rouke cleverly uses a minimum of sets and props to build Coriolanus's Fascist world,as dripping blood and red paint is splatted across the screen to show the public's anger at the growing corn shortage,and to also show Coriolanus's burning hatred for everyone.For the scenes based in Rome's parliament,Rouke brilliantly uses chairs to show the politician's constantly changing their direction,as Coriolanus begins to set his sights on power.

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• Good play, so-so production

  hatboxdragon2015-11-21

  I was really looking forward to seeing this, because of Tom Hiddleston and because I really liked the play itself when I read it to prepare. Unfortunately, I was disappointed overall. This wasn't how I wanted to see Coriolanus done. First up, I should acknowledge that the atmosphere in the theatre itself would no doubt be very different, and that the camera-work employed by NT Live was quite poor and didn't do the action on stage justice. Even so, I found the production dull and unengaging. This is not to say that there weren't some strong positives. Tom Hiddleston (Caius Martius Coriolanus) and Mark Gatiss (Menenius) were definitely the stand-outs amongst those on stage in their presence and skill, though neither, for me, truly got to the heart of their roles. The production's visual style, which was sparse and stuck to a very limited colour palate, was pleasing overall, as were the simple costumes. Good use was made of the minimalist set and the music for the scene changes was effective in its creation of atmosphere. On the other hand, the production plodded along with no sense of urgency. The rest of the cast ranged from adequate to poor. The constant recycling of a very small number of actors through the various minor roles without any differentiation as to costume or demeanour did nothing to help with understanding the play's action. For example, one actor played a noble lady, a senator, a Roman citizen and a Volscian, with minimal clues as to which she was at any one point. The choice to cast women in roles written for men was ill-judged, as it undermined a key theme of the play, that is, the stark line between the male-political and the female-domestic spheres and their competing demands on Coriolanus. Three of the instances of kissing cheapened the production, undermining the integrity (such as it was) of the tribunes' cause, the martial respect between Coriolanus and Aufidius, and the dignity of Coriolanus' family's appeal to him. The visual effects involving chairs and chains, pouring water and characters marching from front to back, seemed gimmicky and pointless. Nor was it clear what it meant that cast members stood at the back of the stage in shadow when not speaking. Were they present, absent, or what? Some of the cuts to the text removed some important perspectives on Coriolanus and made the action harder to follow. The biggest disappointment in the production for me, though, was that in the end it was quite timid. It was neither the human tragedy of Coriolanus nor the triumph of people power that the irritating, introductory mini-documentary seemed to promise. It made no push to address the flaws in the play's text that taking a strong stand one way or the other would have provided an opportunity to do. Stuff happened, Coriolanus died, and in the end it all seemed to add up to nothing very much. Certainly I didn't walk out of the cinema feeling any sense of resolution. I mention this because, as described in the text of the play I have, other productions have introduced features that provide definite judgments on what has just occurred and the actions taken by particular characters. So, overall, while I am glad to have seen at least one production of this play, the flaws outweighed the virtues.

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