Review: THE WEYARD SISTERS, Riverside Studios

Photo credit: Livia Hartmann

The most valuable asset for the writer of a new play is a director, preferably one who is not only expert at the task but can also engage with the writing constructively and yet make difficult decisions when necessary. A director also needs a good writer of course. In the case of The Weyard Sisters at Riverside Studios, writer and director are the same person: Helen Alexander (assisted by Tara Lacey). Sadly, although claimed to be the “definitive sequel to the Scottish play,” this is a confusing and lengthy tale.

The large cast of thirteen in the smaller space at Riverside Studios do their best to engage with the script, written in what is described as Bardic verse, although not all the actors are audible, especially when turning away from the audience. Rather than an amusing Shakespearean parody, this is a serious attempt to portray a period of Scottish history, in particular through the experiences of the women who feature only briefly in Shakespeare’s play. A commendable aim, and there is an interesting story to be told here, but it needs a stronger narrative line and much clearer characterisation and plotting.

Dana Pinto’s design makes much use of shadows behind white sheets, as well as a few pillars. Unfortunately, this takes up much of the playing area, so the scenes on the floor involving characters in the stocks or lying down are invisible to most of the audience. The vaguely steampunk costumes are good however, and ethically sourced, although the brown paper masks for the witches looks like it could have been a last-minute addition.

By the second half of this epic (2 hours 40 minutes) tale, one character last night was not off-script and was reading from a book or a clipboard, and there were occasional periods of silence followed by what sounded like valiant improvisation. Bursts of music seemed to be random and were uncredited, but often featured a pounding bass to attempt to add pace to the production.

Two stars, though, for some of the actors. Jan Shepherd is consistently impressive, Pippa Caddick manages to gurn her way successfully through the part of pig-keeper Marlin, and Ciaran Corsar is always watchable (even managing to sell the same sir/sire gag too many times), and nicely differentiates his two parts through good use of accents. Louie Wanless does good work in three roles in what is his professional debut.

History plays are complex and challenging, with even Shakespeare not always succeeding in the genre, and the recent James plays by Rona Munro show that Scottish history is both difficult and little-known to English audiences. The Weyard Sisters has a laudable aim and a hardworking cast, despite the disappointing outcome, but may interest the avid student of Scottish history.

** Two stars

Reviewed by: Chris Abbott

The Weyard Sisters plays at Riverside Studios until 22 September, with further info here.