The Two Gentlemen of Verona - Performance

Performance

There is no record of a performance in Shakespeare's era, down to the closing of the theatres in 1642, although due to its inclusion in Francis Meres's Palladis Tamia in 1598, we know it was certainly performed during Shakespeare's lifetime. The earliest known performance occurred at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1762. However, this production was of a version of the play rewritten by Benjamin Victor. The earliest known performance of the straight Shakespearean text was at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in 1784, advertised as "Shaxespeare's with alterations." Although the play was supposed to run for several weeks, it closed after the first night.

From the middle of the eighteenth century, even if staging Shakespeare's original play (as opposed to Victor's rewrite) it was common for directors to cut the lines in the final scene where Valentine seems to offer Silvia to Proteus, who has just attempted to rape her, as a sign of his forgiveness and friendship. This practice prevailed until William Macready reintroduced the lines in 1841 in a production at Drury Lane, although they were still being removed as late as 1952, in Denis Carey's production at the Bristol Old Vic. Other nineteenth century performances include Charles Kean's in 1848 at the Haymarket Theatre, Samuel Phelps' in 1857 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre and William Poel's in 1892 and 1896.

During the twentieth century, the play has been produced sporadically, often with little success, in the English-speaking world; although it has proved more popular in Europe. Indeed, there have been only a handful of major English speaking productions worth noting. Little is known, for example, about Harley Granville-Barker's 1904 production at the Royal Court Theatre, F.R. Benson's at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1910, Robert Atkins' 1926 production at the Apollo Theatre, starring John Gielgud, or Ben Iden Payne's 1938 production at Stratford-upon-Avon. Indeed, most critics now agree that the first major 20th century production didn't take place until 1957, at The Old Vic, directed by Michael Langham and starring Richard Gale as Valentine, Keith Michell as Proteus, Barbara Jefford as Julia and Ingrid Hafner as Silvia. In this production, set in late nineteenth century Italy and grounded very much in high Romanticism, Proteus threatens to kill himself with a pistol at the end of the play, prompting Valentine's hasty offer of Silvia.

Perhaps the most notable 20th century production was Peter Hall's 1960 presentation at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, starring Denholm Elliott as Valentine, Derek Godfrey as Proteus, Susan Maryott as Silvia, Frances Cuka as Julia, and featuring a much lauded performance by Patrick Wymark as Launce. Hall had only recently been appointed as Artistic Director of the RSC, and, somewhat unexpectedly, he chose Two Gentlemen as his inaugural production, relocating the play to a late medieval milieu.

Ten years later, in 1970, Robin Phillips' RSC production at the Aldwych Theatre, starred Peter Egan as Valentine, Ian Richardson as Proteus, Helen Mirren as Julia, Estelle Kohler as Silvia, and Patrick Stewart as Launce. This production concentrated on the issues of friendship and treachery, and set the play in a decadent world of social elitism. Valentine and Proteus were presented as aristocratic students, the Duke was a Don, and Eglamour an old scout master. On the other hand, the poverty stricken outlaws were dressed in animal skins.

The RSC again staged the play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1981, as a double bill with Titus Andronicus, under the direction of John Barton, with Peter Land as Proteus, Peter Chelsom as Valentine, Julia Swift as Julia and Diana Hardcastle as Silvia. This production saw the actors not involved in the current on-stage scene sit at the front of the stage and watch the performance. Leon Rubin directed another major performance at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada in 1984, where the actors were dressed in modern clothes and contemporary pop music was featured within the play (for example, the outlaws are portrayed as an anarchic rock group).

A 1991 RSC production at the Swan Theatre saw director David Thacker use an on-stage live band for the duration of the play, playing music from the 1930s, such as Cole Porter and George Gershwin. Thacker's production featured Barry Lynch as Proteus, Richard Bonneville as Valentine, Clare Holman as Julia and Saskia Reeves as Silvia. In 1992, Thacker's production moved to the Barbican Centre in London, and in 1993 went on regional tour. In 1996, Jack Shepherd directed a modern dress version at the Globe Theatre starring Lenny James as Valentine, Mark Rylance as Proteus, Stephanie Roth Haberle as Julia and Anastasia Hille as Silvia. Another RSC production took place at the Swan in 1998, under the direction of Edward Hall, and starring Tom Goodman-Hill as Valentine, Dominic Rowan as Proteus, Lesley Vickerage as Julia and Poppy Miller as Silvia. This production set the play in a grimy unnamed contemporary city where material obsession was all-encompassing. Another performance took place in 1999 at the Cottesloe Theatre, directed by Julie Anne Robinson.

In 2001, Douglas C. Wager directed a version of the play set in the 1950s and featuring the music of Bill Haley and Connie Francis, with Gregory Wooddell as Valentine, Paul Whitthorne as Proteus, Julia Dion as Julia and Louise Zachry as Silvia. In 2004, Fiona Buffini directed a regional touring production for the RSC. Premiering at the Swan, the production starred Alex Avery as Valentine, Laurence Mitchell as Proteus, Vanessa Ackerman as Julia and Rachel Pickup as Silvia, and was performed under the title The Two Gents. Buffini set the play in a swinging 1930s milieu, and featuring numerous dance numbers. Additionally, London and New York replaced Verona and Milan; initially, Valentine and Proteus are shown as living in the English countryside, in a rural paradise devoid of any real vitality, the sons of wealthy families who have retired from the city. When Valentine leaves, he heads to New York to pursue the American Dream and falls in love with Silvia, the famous actress daughter of a powerful media magnate. Another change to the play was that the roles of the outlaws (represented here as a group of paparazzi) were increased considerably. Scenes added to the play show them arriving in New York and going about their daily business, although none of the new scenes featured any dialogue.

Another performance worth noting occurred at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford in 2006. A non-professional acting company from Brazil, named Nós do Morro ('We of the hillside'), in collaboration with a Gallery 37 group from Birmingham, gave a single performance of the play during the RSC's presentation of the Complete Works, directed by Guti Fraga. This production was spoken in Portuguese, with the original English text projected as surtitles onto the back of the stage. It also featured two 17-year-olds in the roles of Valentine and Proteus (usually, actors in their 20s are cast), and Crab was played not by a dog, but by a human actor in a dog costume. In 2009, Joe Dowling directed the play at the Guthrie Theater as a 1955 live television production, with large black-and-white monitors set on either side of the stage, and cameras feeding the action to them. Additionally, period advertisements appeared both before the show and during the intermission. The actors spoke the original dialogue, but wore 1950s clothing and used 1950s-era sets. Rock and roll music and dance sequences were occasionally mixed with the action. In 2011, Laura Cole directed a production at the Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta. Presented as an "in repertory" production, alongside The Taming of the Shrew and The Comedy of Errors, it starred Kenneth Wigley as Valentine, Jonathan Horne as Proteus, Amee Vyas as Julia and Kati Grace Morton as Silvia.

Taken together, these various productions, with their frequent use of music, their geographical and temporal relocations, and their general modifications of the original serve to lend credence to Stanley Wells' claim that the play "has succeeded best when subjected to adaptation, increasing its musical content, adjusting the emphasis of the last scene so as to reduce the shock of Valentine's donation of Silvia to Proteus, and updating the setting."