CURTAIN CALL REVIEW:‘PERICLES’,

SOUTHSEA SHAKESPEARE ACTORS,

THE SQUARE TOWER, PORTSMOUTH.

IN this fast-paced, colourful and entertaining production of a rarely-performed Shakespeare play, (believed to have been co-written with George Wilkins), we were whisked at brisk pace round the Mediterranean, encountering shipwrecks, tournaments, assassins, pirates, brothels and temples, all stitched together by Andy Thomas’s energetic chorus Gower, and following the exploits of Mike Jupp’s put-upon hero Pericles as he succumbed to storms, bereavement, healing and reconciliation, and more coincidences one could wish for in a lifetime. His was a sympathetic portrayal of great range and depth.

Amongst many first-class performances, Rob Bartlett (Governor Cleon) and Sarah Parnell (his jealous, scheming wife Dionyza) stood out, along with Tim Suffolk’s kind and wise Cerimon, and Faye Williams as Pericles’ devoted wife Thaisa. As his daughter Marina, Charlotte Thompson brought out the character’s innocence while avoiding her naivety, and Lauren Farnhill, as brothel madam Bawd, was always on the lookout for the main chance.

Ed Howson