Review: Lion in Winter

How funny can a medieval-era historical drama, based upon the question of legitimate inheritance, and staged in the local Episcopalian church really be? Well, more than you would expect, as James Goldman’s superb Lion in Winter and Katie Brennan’s sharp and sensitive production prove to be a genuine romp. The Plantagenets at Christmas are indeed a festive parade of Machiavellis and fools all seeking revenge and power in a battle of witticisms, schemes and repressed love. And yes, it’s funny too.

The story revolves around the question of inheritance concerning the three royal sons of Henry II, played by the admirably bellowing and sincere Lewis Harding. What ensues is enough courtly intrigue to make the head spin and the spine tingle with excitement. All the actors hold themselves up well, although particular mention must go to Cara Mahoney and Alex Levine who together were the play’s greatest joys. The former’s devilish intensity and the latter’s wayward stupidity expressed the limits of Lion in Winter’s balancing act between guile and gullibility. It also helped that they had all the funniest lines, and comic timing that a mere layman would kill for.

The plot, dizzying as it sometimes is, does get out of hand at times. But the emotion of each character is so clearly defined that it is never overly distracting. You may have to ask yourself “What’s that character’s angle?” but you are never in any doubt that they have an angle, that something devious is going on behind the eyes, that some sleight of hand is about to take place. This is a testament to the solid quality of each performance and how in tune they were with each other.

Equally impressive was the novel choice of the church as a venue. A beautiful building in itself, it gave the play a suitably medieval look as well as an ironic Christian moral backdrop to the various intrigues, plots, lies and poisonous sentiments, and that’s not even to mention the jokes, obscenities and sexual surprises, that fly around faster than two shakes of a lion’s tail. Nor was Brennan afraid to use the whole space, as characters continued to talk as they walked up and down the aisle (subtly hinting at the marriages that would, or could, never happen). However, the church did bring with it certain problems with audibility. Poor acoustics meant that some lines were swallowed up by the unforgiving house of God. Another unforgiving aspect was the length of the play, which seemed at times unnecessary. Certain scenes could have been cut down and certain scenes could simply have been cut. After all pews were not built for comfort.   

The costumes too were excellently chosen, particularly for the actresses. Giving Laura Francis’ tender mistress Alais a dress of blue and Mahoney’s manipulating Eleanor one of flowing red created a nice visual counterpoint to their emotions, as well as hinting at the slightly deeper, the slightly contradictory, sides of their characters which they would never wish to show, but alas cannot help but reveal.

However, beneath the colourful costumes and dialogue there is a poignant regret to this play, which raises it above a simple comedy. The characters, and by the end the audience too, regret that they cannot trust each other, that they cannot love each other. It is this aspect of the play that makes it memorable and worth going to see. But, don’t forget, it is funny too.

Lion in Winter continues tonight at 7.30pm at the Episcopalian church for just £5. It would be a paw decision to miss it.