Well, the tour of The importance of Being Earnest is finally underway. The week in Italy, however, was not without problems that can only be termed as 'cultural' - in the sense that we had prepared an English version of the play and the Italians wanted something a little different. We were briefed that the show needed slow delivery of lines and quite a bit of non-verbal gesture. This we had incorporated in the production. However, what the Italians wanted was more in line with slap stick comedy than with a comedy of manners. They wanted 'much more' and 'much bigger', to the extent that characters became caricatures and that the acting, were it to be performed in the UK, would be deemed over the top and perhaps somewhat, dare I say it, amdram. However, what the customer wants is what the customer gets and we have to cater for our audience.
I am not thoroughly convinced though, that we are doing the best thing here. The idea of the Palchetto tour is to enlighten an Italian audience to British culture. Whilst Wilde is no doubt a substantial player in the Anglo-Irish dramatic canon, a true cultural tour would have allowed a British production of it. Whilst asking us to make quite a lot of changes to suit the Italian audience might have made it a more enjoyable experience for them, it does not necessarily mean they get to see British culture. What they have got is a quasi Anglo-Italian bastardisation that takes the play, an initial British direction of it and then overlays it with elements of pantomime and commedia dell arte.
The issue here is the immovable force of the Italian desire for gimmicks and hi-jinx on stage versus the unstoppable object of Wilde's subtlety and British understatement embedded, nay, intrinsic to the text. It may be that the two are a bad match, or uneasy bedfellows - it may end up to be a dynamic that works well in Italy. The cast, especially the more traditional 'high art' devotees were not pleased at all at having to sacrifice character for caricature or well crafted blocking for Laural and Hardy farce.
So, the week was hectic. The gestures were magnified, the slapstick was incorporated, the costumes exaggerated, the lighting got its special effects, the set got its transformation - false grass for the outdoor scenes.. etc etc. Hard work, when you've got everything to a T and then, when you only expect the technicals, you have to reblock much of what you have done. Fourteen hour days and much hairpulling ensued, no doubt there were a few tears and muttered grumblings too.
The outcome, however, was clear: Palchetto got exactly what they wanted and were thrilled with the performances. The cast were signing autographs on the first night and had a double bow and on the second showing the applauses were so long they had to hold positions for quite a while before delivering the next line. Wonderful stuff. At least next time we know exactly what they are wanting.
On Monday, Ablerto and Marina from Palchetto Stage, came over to see our rehearsals and to comment on how the play, as we had produced it, would be suitable for an Italian audience. I was very pleased to say that they enjoyed the run through very much. They commented on the quality of the acting and the characterisation and were very impressed at the way it had been directed.
