My assignment for the evening was Shakespeare; Measure for Measure at the Tobacco factory, fast becoming the place to watch Shakespeare. "Intimate" is the word all the cast seem to use, and with a sell out audience of around 200 never more than five metres or so away from the action it certainly is that. the performance here is much more real than in larger theatres Peter Clifford who plays the Duke of Vienna tells me afterwards, and it is the story that carries the plot along, not the special effects which can dominate in larger theatres. This is certainly something I can appreciate as I crease up watching the wide array of disgusted looks that Pompey and Elbow give to the doorman.

Lucio is portrayed excellently by Cameron Firth, and for me the perfect timing of his witty interjections and the way he undercut the main characters really stole the show. However, this performance is not about individuals, it is about a cast who seem close knit and totally devoid of prima donnas. Many of the cast have returned from last season, and John Mackay whose Angelo is worlds apart from his portrayal of Flute last summer explains how the actors feel no need to try and prove themselves to each other. Lucy Black who seems remarkably calm and down-to-earth despite her on-stage portrayals of traumatised figures such as Cordelia last year and Isabella tonight tells me "at the moment it feels like our company". Certainly there is a strong personal feel to everything, after the show, the cast mingle freely in the bar, and only too happy to talk, even to journalists like myself. The fact that Blunkett's civil service minions want to abolish Shakespeare is worrying, but send them too a performance or two here, and they will soon be won over. 

This is Shakespeare at its best- go and see it now!!

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