Trevor Nunn is one of the world's leading most Elizabethan directors, having staged everything from Shakespearean productions to carving out the semblance of Cats. For his latest, Nunn brings the turbulent Pericles to Theatre for a New Audience, which marks the first time the director has headed a U.S. production.
Mr. Nunn, 76, has an unorthodox approach to theater, one in keeping with his modern day stagings of most things Shakespeare. However, Pericles hasn't won over critics quite the same way his earlier productions have.
According to AM New York, the play was described:
"Nunn's Pericles is an unusually lavish affair, with a 22-person cast, live music and rich, exotic-looking costumes. Alas, Pericles is not worthy of such large-scale production values. The three-hour show, though visually sleek and persuasively acted, comes off as bloated and tiresome, and Nunn's edits to the text do not add much clarity."
Even the New York Daily News considered the directed performance to be "ovesrstuffed" and "all over the map."
The story, of course, is centered around the title character Pericles (portrayed by Christian Camargo) who wanders through the various corridors of the Mediterranean, grappling with common Shakespearean themes such as incest. He also encounters a shipwreck, a nation in famine and the death of his wife and daughter.
Also added in the solution are cantankerous murder plots, prostitution, redemption, a tearful reunion and more.
But the play, which runs through March 27 at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center on 262 Ashland Place in Fort Greene, appears to fall flat with its audience and confuses onlookers with its seemingly and overly intricate details.
For now, though, check out the play for yourself and witness a preview and description in the meantime below.
