Review: Wyrd Sisters @ New Theatre Royal

by Mark Townsin

A warm Tuesday evening saw the opening night of a new production of Wyrd Sisters at the New Theatre Royal.

For the uninitiated, this an adaptation of one of Terry Pratchett’s early Discworld novels with perhaps a passing similarity to, what those of a thespian bent might call, the ‘Scottish play’. In synopsis the king of the fantasy kingdom of Lancre is murdered by his cousin, the Duke, who then takes over the crown. The king’s son and crown are hidden away with three witches, The Wyrd Sisters of the title. The Duke and his wife horribly mismanage the kingdom, with the Duke wracked by guilt over killing his cousin. The witches make plans for destiny to take its course, and return the rightful heir to his throne…

As with all Pratchett work, the key here is sharp observational comedy with a tongue wedged firmly in cheek. For this, some special praise must be dolled out to Tim Stokes in his role as one of the central characters, The Duke. His energetic and wonderfully over the top parody of any number of Shakespearian villains had the crowd in stitches repeatedly. Other notable mentions should go to Jane Blatch-Gainey whose portrayal of the worldly Nanny Ogg, really stood out. Bob Bell’s comic turn as Hwel the playwright was good a one also, most memorably during his motivational speech to his downtrodden cast.

The cast clearly had a great time performing this play (an adaptation by Stephen Briggs) and this, despite evidence of first night nerves in some vocal delivery, really translated itself to the audience. There were some nice contemporary touches, such as the pop songs being played between sets, which helped enhance the mood that was being aimed for. This also served to make the set changes seem just that bit more slick. It was clear from the costume work and delivery used by the witches that the previous cartoon version of this story had been referenced. This though is by no means a cause for complaint and what was done was done extremely well. The director’s use of a character outside of the story, who at times would pause the action and explain the nuances of the Discworld, was a clever one also. Add to this a very warm, but nevertheless entirely pleasant venue, and this production was one that this writer would be happy to recommend to a friend.