The Plot

The Plot retells the Gunpowder Plot through Thomas and Robert Wintour, who find themselves somewhere between purgatory and history, reconstructing the conspiracy and its aftermath through verse, movement and an awful lot of Shakespeare. It is an odd theatrical mixture, though visually and verbally consistent and unstoppably entertaining.

Sophie Kean and Abby McCann play Tom and Rob as well as the succession of characters around them, from James I to Sir Edward Coke, the King's prosecutor. The play begins with matches struck and spells cast, while the rack of chains hanging over the stage lend the stage an essence of ritual and foreboding. The acting is relentlessly superb, particularly vocally, with Kean's Coke boldly engaging. There is a Shakespearean relish to the performances which carries much of the evening.

The Shakespeare can become a little much, though. Macbeth is clearly an apposite choice for a play about a Jacobean plot against a king, but there are so many familiar lines and fragments that thread the piece that it can start to feel like a game of how many Shakespearean quotations can be fitted and recognised in seventy minutes. For those less familiar with the Bard, the accumulation can be hard to follow; even where the references are recognisable, it is not always clear what they lend to the particular moments.

However the reason for its setting and words does nbecome clearer as the play reveals its subtle proposition. It is concerned with an England that feels less and less England against a changing religious and social tapestry. This concern echoes loudly with the rhetoric the far right: an uncomfortably familiar impulse. And through that lens, Shakespeare becomes less of a decoration and more of the language of a politics looking backwards. It is a clever turn, and one that gives the production a bite.

Meanwhile, the sound builds relentlessly towards a crescendo, while the black and white motif and movement give the piece a strong visual rhythm. Buckets of water sit around the stage as the players drink it, splash it, wear it as rain and wash their hands, bringing a powerful image into the room. The movement is often excellent, particularly as the production grows more feverish towards its climax.

There are flashes of humour amongst the heavy prose every now and then, and the whole thing is endlessly fun to watch. Though the Shakespeare can make it difficult to catch everything at speed, when the movement, sound and ideas lock together, The Plot is very entertaining indeed.

The Plot by theatregoose.