Tom Hiddleston as Coriolanus
A British version of Coriolanus on YouTube
Source: nationaltheatre.org.uk
A Shakespearean play about an arrogant politician’s fall from favor, who is then disposed from office and removed from the capital, Rome, but tries to win back the power with disastrous consequences. After almost 400 years after this little known William Shakespeare play was written it still seems very relevant.
The National Theatre London has released another production on YouTube, this time it is the not so well known Shakespearean play, Coriolanus. This production is starring Tom Hiddleston and features Alfred Enoch from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder fame.
Coriolanus was originally filmed in 2014 and screened on limited release until Coronavirus hit and thanks to their extensive backlog the National Theatre is releasing one production a week during this pandemic to keep audiences engaged.
Directed by Josie Rourke, who was also the Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, who co-produced this production. This is a gritty stage play with a human fragility that makes you almost feel sorry for Coriolanus played by Tom Hiddleston.
There is a tense atmosphere about this play from the moment you see the brutal minimalist staging. The feeling is that an all out riot or protest is about to breakout at any moment. A very unnerving but accurate sensation while watching from the comfort of your home. You can’t help but wonder if the actual events of the outside world helped contribute to this uncomfortable feeling.
Modernizing Shakespeare has been a thing for a long time. Richard Loncraine’s Richard III, Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo and Juliet, Julie Taymor’s Titus or more recently Richard Eyre’s King Lear have adapted one of the Bard’s well known or not so well known dramas for the twentieth and now twenty-first century audiences.
This instance of Coriolanus is a stripped back version, bare stage, but very graphic and quite gory fight scenes. The use of an almost broken Empire as the backdrop, damaged buildings with graffiti and the actors wearing military styled costumes, does make you think of a world that is falling apart and the military have had to step in to keep the peace.
Tom Hiddleston as Coriolanus is mesmerizing. There is a sense of brutish aggression that resonates on the stage. From the moment he appears you can’t help but watch his actions, sometimes quite repugnant and at one time covered in blood showering with open wounds. Tom’s performance is captivating and rough.
There is something comforting about watching a new interpretation of William Shakespeare’s work. During times when we cannot enter a theater it is good to watch a modern staging that challenges and makes you think and this version of Coriolanus definitely makes you do that. But streaming this version also makes you miss the art form of live theater.
Coriolanus is currently available to stream on YouTube on the National Theatre channel.