A Vivacious Affair by Ryan LaPointe

On Wednesday, March 11, we went to see Kneehigh's Tristan and Yseult, performed at ArtsEmerson's Cutler Majestic Theater in Boston.  The Cutler Majestic is a very ornate, large theater with two balcony levels.  I noticed that the theater has unusually comfortable seats that did not become uncomfortable by the end of the performance as I have grown to expect.

Tristan and Yseult is a comedic love story.  After defeating his enemy Morholt, King Mark of Cornwall vows to take everything that belonged to Morholt, including his sister Yseult.  Tristan is tasked with fetching Yseult so that the king may marry her.  Tristan is successful in finding Yseult, and the pair fall in love at first sight.  After much fun on the voyage back to Cornwall, Yseult is wed to King Mark, but that does not put an end to her amour with Tristan.

The show was incredibly well choreographed.  There were realistic knife fights and elaborate, quick-paced dances.  Everything was performed with great precision and specificity, which in my opinion was the outstanding aspect of this performance.

I was also impressed with the intricacy of the show's technical aspects.  The performance contained a huge number of complex light and sound cues that were often very timing-sensitive.  One moment which I found particularly effective was when Frocin took a photo of Tristan and Yseult.  At this moment, there was an intense white flash of light throughout the stage, bright enough that I was blinded for an instant, accompanied by a loud sound effect.  This combination startled me even though I knew that Frocin was about to snap a photo.  Startling the audience seems to be the intended effect of this cue, conveying the startlement of Tristan and Yseult, who had been unaware of Frocin's presence.

The acting was very good, although I could pick out a few less-than-perfect moments during the course of the performance.  The comedy of the show was well done, and I felt gratified when any of the principally comical characters came on stage, including Frocin, Brangian, and the “Club of the Unloved” ensemble.  At a few points during the performance, the audience was asked to actively engage themselves in ways such as toasting the king and the queen, and inflating and releasing balloons found in some of the programs.

I found this performance of Tristan and Yseult to be the most entertaining of all of the shows we attended during the two weeks of Winterim.  The well-executed comedy and occasional breaking of the fourth wall kept the show engaging and amusing.  I highly recommend this production.

Tristan and Yseult: An Emotional Roller Coaster By Lilly Harvey

As I sunk into the plush red seats in the Cutler Majestic Theater on Wednesday March 11^th, I was prepared to watch a traditional play. I looked up Tristan and Ysuelt beforehand and found that it was a French drama featuring star-crossed lovers.  I expected the kind of play with stiff, formal costumes, a traditional set, and a customary acting style.  However, within the first couple of minutes of the production it was clear that this would not be a traditional representation of this classic French tale. 

          The first thing that made this play unique was the ensemble, who were referred to throughout the play as the, “unloved.” This group of actors wore black raincoats as if they cried so often that they needed to protect themselves from their own tears.   While the dramatic plot unfolded, the “unloved,” offered bright bursts of comedy throughout.  For example, as a particular intense scene was unfolding they would stand near the scene, munching on popcorn.  They even offered a burst of comedy during intermission, when they each got up on stage and sang and danced.  While there performance had the entire audience doubled over laughing, they were all clearly very talented actors and singers.  The unique and humorous ensemble was a very necessary breath of fresh air during the otherwise extremely intense storyline. 

                      Plot wise, the play was a series of ups and downs that had me on the edge of my seat the entire way through.  This production had me laughing hysterically, gasping with shock, and crying all within the hour and a half that the performance took place.  There wasn’t a moment during the play when I was bored, or when I wasn’t fully engaged in what was happening onstage.  When the play ended the women behind me said, “I am completely emotionally drained right now I need to go home and eat a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.” Everyone around us laughed and nodded in agreement, including myself.  At the end of the performance, I think that every single member of the audience was feeling the exact same way as the women sitting behind me.  The actors and actresses in the play made the audience feel the ups and downs that the characters in the play were feeling, which made the play an emotional ride. 

          Overall, I would highly recommend this production.  There wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t entertained in some way. Tristan and Yseult is traditionally a very intense story, which was broken up with the use of humor.  The actors and actresses made you feel every emotion that their characters were feeling, so that the audience was riveted during every moment of the show.  If you want to experience the class French tale Tristan and Yseult in a completely different way come to the Cutler Majestic Theater!  

 

It’s Not Even Raining by Emily Pisacreta

When you think tragic 12^th century French plays, usually you don’t think about an ensemble of men dressed in black raincoats dancing to Get Lucky by Daft Punk. However, Kneehigh Theater Company from London managed to add such entertaining elements and many others into their extremely entertaining rendition of Tristan & Yseult on March 12^th, 2015. Tristan & Yseult tells the story of two young lovers who enter into a dangerous love triangle, where the third point is King Mark, a powerful ruler and a friend of Tristan. Yseult truly loves both Tristan and King Mark, and she struggles throughout the play to love and please everybody. The lovers’ struggle is captivating on its own but paired with amazing set and technical elements, lively acting and engaging activities with the audience, this production of Tristan & Yseult was out of this world.

I wanted to be in this play, and I kind of was. Before the play started, members of “The Club of the Unloved,” the trench coat wearing ensemble that served as an addition to the age-old story, came into the crowd and “interviewed” audience members about love. Watching the awkward audience members get interviewed was hilarious, and the play only went up hill from there. With insanely well-choreographed and realistic fight scenes with fake blood and everything, actors that were literally swinging from the ceiling and a main character who spoke only in French for half of the play, I was engaged and excited throughout the entirety of the production.

 One of the highlights of the play came in a wedding reception, where the entire audience was invited. Frocin, King Mark’s assistant played by Damon Daunno, delivered a witty speech and then prompted the entire audience to blow up balloons found in their programs and to let them go when Mark and Yseult walked in. Then, he prompted the audience to give a toast and mocked our weak celebratory skills. While the first half of the play delivered in the comedic department, the second half certainly brought the dramatic and tragic element to life. Without giving away anything important, I will say that the girl sitting behind me at the end of the play said, “I just want to go home, eat a tub of Ben and Jerry’s and cry.” And I have to say she was not the only one in the theater with those feelings. The Actors in the Kneehigh Theater Company did an amazing job making fun, likeable characters that I sympathized with and rooted for because of their strong acting performances and well-executed technical scenes.

One of the most exciting technical elements happened when Frocin tried to take a picture of Tristan and Yseult. He was hoisted high above the stage with wires and a harness. The ensemble characters maneuvered the wires moving him up and down, and the audience laughed and held their breath as he swung above the couple. When he finally took the picture a bright light flashed and a huge flash noise resonated throughout the theater, mimicking a camera flash, except far more dramatic. It made that moment much more exciting and entertaining for the audience. Every technical element in the play was similar to that one in scale and excitement, they always added to the play, and were never distracting. They made the play easier to understand and much more fun to watch.

Tristan and Yseult had every element that makes a successful piece of theater and capitalized on every single opportunity. The actors were enthusiastic and funny as well as centered and dramatic. The technical elements were fantastic and did not distract or take anything away from the action on stage. I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. This production of Tristan and Yseult was fabulous, and if you get the opportunity to go, go.

 

Give ‘em Your Love By Jonathan Coombs

                The ensemble shouldn’t be called the Unloved for long, because the audience completely adores them. The Tristan and Yseult production by Kneehigh is a must see. I’d stop typing this now, but there is a required length. Sooo…. Yeah.

                The cast was amazing, working with the audience as well as each other. There was a very memorable moment where the audience was asked to blow up balloons for the entrance of two characters. Not only was it fun for the audience, but it allowed for an improvised moment between an actor and an audience member. The audience member tied the balloon and was not supposed to. The cast member spoke to her, saying that she clearly tied the balloon. It was a fantastic moment for everyone except her. I could go into detail describing each actor and how well they performed. But all I need to say is as long as you have the money and the means to get to a theatre, there is no reason not to see it.

                Now I’ll just spend a paragraph writing in the point of view of someone who doesn’t like it. Please welcome Paddy the Pessimist.

                Thank you for having me. Oh, how much I hate having fun and generally enjoying life. I saw a kid with an ice cream cone today, so I knocked it out of his hand. Anyway, the play. The cast was too energetic and too good at performing it. The writing had too much comedy and had too much tragedy woven together tighter than a spiders web. Overall the play was just too bad. Bad bad bad. Now excuse me, I have to get myself another spoonful of baby seal.

                There we go. I hope you have an understanding of who would not like the show. I’m sorry if this seems a little slapdash, I just have nothing to say other than go watch it.

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Why are you still here? GO WATCH IT!