The Defamation – Riverside Studios

Presented as part of the Riverside Studios Bitesize Festival, this is an intriguing piece of theatre written by Zen Tucker. Said to be inspired by the events of the Depp versus Heard defamation lawsuit in the US, it is situated in a liminal space between life and death. Five of Shakespeare’s best-known female characters are obliged to spend interminable time awaiting the decision of an afterlife court as to whether they should be dispatched to heaven or hell.

The setting is a library with somewhat irregular shelves and two small tables. The characters are Desdemona, Lady Macbeth, Hermione, Ophelia and Hero. For those not familiar with Shakespeare, the character sheet provides a useful summary of their roles their respective plays. The play, which is written in blank verse, involves the five characters bemoaning their fate and the male dominated world which determines it. A modern fictitious character, Charity, inspired by Amber Heard joins the group and reveals that maybe the situation of women has not changed very much since the 17th Century.

As someone with a love of Shakespeare I found this a very interesting concept. However, all the female actors were of a similar age, and I felt that it would have introduced more variety had at least a couple of them, perhaps Lady Macbeth and Hermione, been older, as they were in the original plays. I also felt that the cast members could have introduced more variety into the delivery of their lines. The only male voice in the play was the character of Gilmore, a janitor played by Aaron Thaker in the style of the porter in Macbeth, whose lively performance introduced a useful contrast to the rather flat delivery of the female characters. There was very little conflict within the piece, since all five Shakespearean characters basically agreed with each other. It would have been interesting to introduce, in some way, the voices of the men who dominated their world, and who fixed their destinies.

The play was performed in the river room at Riverside Studios, which is not really set up for theatrical presentations and as a result, lighting and sound options were limited.  Given the unworldly setting, more innovative lighting and sound effects, had they been available, would also have added to the interest.

Reviewer: Paul Ackroyd

Reviewed: 17th July 2024

North West End UK Rating: