Four Yeats plays

Press, 9 April 1979, Page 5

Four Yeats plays

Bv HOWARD McNAUGHTON Four Plays of the Cuchulain Cycle, by W. B. , Yeats. Directed by Cassandra Hart for World Play- 1 ers; Ngaio Marsh Theatre, April 3 and 9. Running time: 8 p.m. to 10.20 ; (approx.). Word Players is a group! recently founded with the | general purpose of doing! fully rehearsed readings ofj plays which, for various rea-j sons, are seldom given full-1 scale production. The Cuchulain cycle which! is now presented is done | with minimal decor by actors! dressed simply in black; the) emphasis is on vocal per-1 formance, but the movements! have been thoroughly and intelligently rehearsed also,' and the use of specially de-! signed masks adds an extra! dimension of authenticity to the exercise.

The enthusiasm, commit-! ment, and group cohesion of! the cast, and the fact that ad-! mission is free, mean that! the atmosphere is one of informal celebration of the] work of a great theatre poet. !

I The programme follows I the life of the hero, rather I than order of writing. Thus, in the first piece, “At the ! Hawk’s Well,” we immedi-; lately encounter Yeats’s I mature theatre style, crystallised and abstract, before we ! are taken bac kto his earlier, !more straightforward narraitive style in “On Baile’s I Strand.”

“The Only Jealousy of Emer” and “The Death of Cuchulain” make an interest-! ingly complementary second, half to the programme, reflecting the most ambitious technical experimentation in) Yeats’ theatre work. Because it is the most accessible. “On Baile’s I Strand” made the most immediate audience impact last Tuesday: the cast was, understandably, at its most confident here, and all five of the named male roles were handled creditably. However, for me, the more abstract pieces have the greatest fascination, intensified by the use of masks and dance, and prospective audiences will , get greatest value out of the ; production if they read some of the' (very short.) scripts'!

[ before tonight’s repeat per1 1 formance. i Inevitably, some aspects of i the production seem uni polished, but the rehearsal has been so thorough that the presence of scripts does not impede the action. This sort of low-budget enterprise should be done much more widely in our educational theatres, and should be supported by all those who com-! plain of the low intellectual calibre of local drama.