Venus & Adonis, Civic Theatre

Puppetry in the theatre comes in many ways, from the wooden marionettes of old to Julie Taymor's Lion King, and The National Theatre's War Horse. Here, The Royal Shakespeare Company with Little Angel Theatre use puppetry to bring Shakespeare's first bestseller, Venus and Adonis, to life, with the bard getting a quick look in at the very beginning. The large puppet stage, a reminder of a more traditional styling, is in place, but director Gregory Doran does not confine the two lovers to the small proscenium, but brings them closer to us, using an island style stage in the foreground. 

Here the tale of Venus and Adonis gives us comedy, tragedy all through the rhymes and couplets of Shakespeare's creativity, some of the key elements of the Bard's other writing. With a narrator delivering the lines, and the wonderful acoustic playing of the guitar, the two, dressed in black, bookend the action itself and add to the storytelling occasion.

Venus being smitten with the beautiful Adonis, wishes them to be together. Adonis, a little like a teenager, is not sure at the beginning, rather riding his horses or hunting a wild boar. Nature itself works as an interlude almost, or perhaps what humans wish and what nature intends can be two different things. Here horses in love, hares being hunted, are all part of the imagery employed by Shakespeare, and exploited lovingly by the company giving it an earthy feel. Images on the gauze in the puppet stage give us mornings, dark forests, and our first glimpse of the boar. The horse puppets being a very striking design, and giving a strong presence, is an example of how this imagery is brought to life, in a world of pale, earthy tones, and various browns. While the design also throws up a few additional surprises during the course of the show.

Doran's direction, along with Steve Tiplady, director of puppetry, ensures a lightness of touch, with the sounds of horses, and humans, responding to situations, carefully and exquisitely accomplished by the puppeteers themselves, who move in such a careful way that they are never rushed nor intrude on the action they are creating. Knowing they are there adds to the wonder and images, such as Adonis running, the lovers entwined in an embrace and then floating in mid-air, are memorable moments.

Venus and Adonis is a wonderful, and wonder full, outing to the theatre. The skill and storytelling of the RSC, along with the puppetry magic of Little Theatre, makes a brilliant addition to the Dublin Theatre Festival, and even more so, and rather excellent day out.