Edward II

Published Friday 25 July 2008 at 12:50 by Catherine Usher

A distinctly contemporary adaptation complete with booming soundtrack and outfits straight out of H&M, Michael Oakley’s interpretation of Edward II is much like its main characters - bold, attention-grabbing and a little self-absorbed.

With his edgy fashion and modern-sounding delivery, Tom Robertson’s Gaveston - who opens the proceedings - is quite camp and most definitely bitchy.

The previously exiled lover of Edward II (Philip Cumbus) who is now back in town, Gaveston clearly enjoys persecuting Edward’s wife Isabella (Kate Sissons) who transforms from naive, lovesick girl to sceptical vamp. This is cleverly portrayed in both her costume and her hair - at first she wears virginal white with her hair gently held back in a low bun. But the hairstyle becomes increasingly high and more severe and the wardrobe takes on a distinct dominatrix turn - echoing her growing self-assurance and alienation from her husband.

Cumbus paints a sympathetic picture of troubled Edward who is utterly indifferent to his wife and completely infatuated with Gaveston. Duty has led him to marriage, but the absurdity and cruelty of his passion-free union with Isabella is frequently uncomfortable to watch. As he openly embraces Gaveston, the court is horrified by his homosexuality, whereas the audience is more troubled by the unconcerned way in which he humiliates his wife.

With a solid cast of grave and severe defenders of the monarchy, Edward’s fate is clearly bleak, yet Cumbus presents his youthful frivolity nicely. Looking like an Asia-bound Ewan McGregor having just stepped off his motorbike, dishevelled, bearded Cumbus cuts a fine and playful figure in his black, leather trousers.

As his demise reaches its shocking climax, Sissons and an excellent Bill Ward as the brooding Mortimer show how they’ve developed into a slick publicity machine.

Ultimately though, most of the characters prove themselves to be alarmingly self-centred, and it is a testament to this clever, atmospheric production that by the end of two and a half hours, the audience is still actually concerned about their fate.