“Measure For Measure” by The Royal Shakespeare Company.
Nottingham Theatre Royal

This year I’ll be catching several Shakespeare plays that I have not seen before and this is where my education starts to be broadened with “Measure For Measure”

Vienna, set in the early 1900's, is teeming with brothels and loose morality, but the Duke doesn't want to use his authority to clean up the city. He departs, dressed as a friar, leaving his deputy, Angelo, in charge. Angelo is at first reluctant, but he soon starts to make changes.

A young man, Claudio, gets the girl he intends to marry, Juliet, pregnant. Under a forgotten old law that Angelo has just reinstated, Claudio is arrested and sentenced to death. Angelo revives other harsh laws and threatens to demolish all the brothels. Meanwhile, the Duke returns to the city in disguise.

Lucio, Froth and others (who regularly visit Mistress Overdone's brothel) are shocked to hear of Claudio's fate and agree that Lucio should visit Claudio's sister, Isabella, in her convent. They persuade her to leave the convent and appeal to Angelo to spare her brother.

A friar (Peter) comes forward to support Isabella's story, and Mariana confirms that she was the one to sleep with Angelo and that he had earlier refused to marry her. The Duke (in disguise again) also confirms Isabella and Mariana's stories and, during a scuffle, is revealed to be the returned Duke.

On the Duke's orders, Friar Peter marries Mariana to Angelo, whom the Duke immediately condemns to death. The two women plead for Angelo's life, and the Duke relents. The Duke then has both Barnardine and Claudio brought before him, frees Barnardine and reunites Isabella with her brother. Lucio is forced to marry the prostitute he made pregnant, and is then condemned to death so that his widow can inherit his money.

The play ends when the Duke appears to propose marriage to Isabella, who does not answer him.

Shakespeare's comic wit is darkly exhibited here, not least with the beheaded prisoner scene, and is wonderfully presented with wonderful lucidity, so that even a non Shakespeare fan would be able to latch on to the story and get the humour intended.

Directed by Gregory Doran and Set Design by Stephen Brimson Lewis. After a glamorous ballroom scene, the set takes second place to the story and the actors, but complementing the simplicity of the set, the projection design takes you to the places where the scenes need to be.

You would not expect the cast to be anything less than wonderful, after all this is the Royal Shakespeare Company after all, and this cast are nothing less than wonderful. Engaging the audience at every step and making that long ninety minutes first act seem like nineteen.

There's no way that I could favour any of these actors over the next as they all know their craft and present the characters wonderfully. Although I will mention Hannah Azuonye for her beautiful singing voice which opened the second act.

And for someone who loves to hear accents, this play is teeming with various accents.

This production is also well timed as the theme of the play is depravity, blackmail, lust, sleaze and sex, and when you think that this is being presented in Nottingham in the same week as the Harvey Weinstein court conclusion,and still in the wake of the "Me 2 Movement", it shows just how relevant Shakespeare still is.

“Measure For Measure” is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal on Saturday 29 February, Friday 6 March and Saturday 7 March matinee.