Review of The Shakespeare Codex from Richmond Shakespeare Society at Mary Wallace Theatre, Twickenham.
It has been a few years since I was at this theatre to see the last Pratchett production of Wyrd Sisters. This time I was at this lovely local theatre to see their final night of the adaptation by Stephen Briggs.
The play is based loosely on The Science of Discworld II: The Globe, the novel Lords & Ladies, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Stephen wrote this stage adaptation to commemorate Terry Pratchett's life and works and it was first performed in 2016.
In this tale, evil elves attempt to take over Elizabethan England on "Roundworld” and a gang of Discworld characters step in to stop them, and make sure William Shakespeare exists to write his plays. The story blends historical people and facts with Terry’s signature satire and lots of theatrics.
The cast played multiple characters, which was handled really well. I was impressed with Denise Tomlinson as Granny Weatherwax (also Queen Elizabeth I). She characterised Esme very well. My only issue was her costume – a black satin dress with some frills was not very Granny for me. I also really enjoyed Rod Ellis as Ridcully. He definitely embodied the role and his costume was fantastic, especially the hat with all it’s accessories. Pauline Orchard as the Elf Queen was nicely evil and threatening. Special mention to Cath Hardy’s depiction of Nanny Ogg, and to Paul Smith as the Librarian – the mon…er… ape costume and make up was amazing and the lack of dialogue didn’t stop him getting laughs from the audience with his expressive ‘Ooks’. Overall, there was not a weak member of the cast, they all did a brilliant job.
The staging was clever and effective. It was kept simple with flats depicting a library, and smaller flats were flipped in and out to change the scene, which worked very well.
The Shakespeare Codex is a bold choice for an amateur group to take on. Unlike most of Stephen’s works it’s not a direct adaption of a novel, it’s a ‘mash up’ of different stories and you do have to be a Pratchett fan to get some of the jokes and references. This was a well cast and funny production where the comic timing was spot on and the audience were very appreciative.
I was lucky enough to chat with some of the cast and the Director, Scott Tilley, afterwards, and we geeked out appropriately over all things Discworld. Scott is a full Pratchett fan and this play needs to be handled by someone who understands Terry’s humour. Some of the cast were not Pratchett fans but with the right direction had definitely embraced the characters.
Congratulations to Scott and all the cast and crew for an excellent show.