[NEohioPAL] Berko review: PERHAPS PERICLES @ Cesear's Forum

[Roy Berko]

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PERHAPS PERICLES, a maybe Shakespeare script, at Cesear’s Forum

Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)

It’s the responsibility of the director of a theatrical production to set
the ideas, tone and movement of the actors on stage.  Sometimes, the
director collaborates with the actors by allowing them input on textual
decisions as well as line interpretation.  Imagine what would happen when a
director allows such input on a production of William Shakespeare’s
PERICLES.  This is the premise of PERHAPS PERICLES, now on stage at
Cesear’s Forum.

PERHAPS PERICLES has a strange provenance.  It is sometimes credited to
Shakespeare, but does not appear in the first two his folios, and only
sketchily in the third.  Some sources believe that the script was written
by George Wilkins, an English dramatist, pamphleteer, inn-keeper and
criminal.  This theory is based on his 1608 novel, THE PAINFUL ADVENTURES
OF PERICLES, PRYNCE OF TYRE, which was supposedly a true history of
Pericles, he of Greek legend.

The borrowing of Shakespeare’s writing about Pericles (PERICLES, PRINCE OF
TYRE, a play written late in the Bard’s life) for this script, makes sense
as the play’s first act (actually the first two acts in the original
version) basically is a debate on what to include and not include in the
telling of the Pericles legend.  The last act (three acts in the original
version) are what sounds to be the Bard’s telling of the tale.  To add to
the mystery, Greg Cesear, Cesear's Forum’s Artistic Director, has further
honed this version.

Assuming Shakespeare did have anything to do with the script, it would be
classified as one of his “romance tales.”  These tend to be highly
improbable, often event miraculous happenings, asking the viewer to suspend
disbelief and to watch and listen with the wonder of a child.

As the play is conceived and developed by Cesear, the romance tale
description fits.

In brief, the story centers on a feud between Pericles and Antiochus, a
king who is having an incestuous affair with his daughter.   Pericles
marries and has a daughter.  Thinking Pericles knows of his evil deed,
Antiochus sets out to destroy him.  His life in peril, Pericles flees.
Years later,  thinking his wife and daughter are dead, Pericles encounters
and recognizes Mariana, his daughter.  He has a dream which instructs him
to travel to Ephesus, where he is reunited with his wife, and the trio live
happily ever after.  Yes, this is a romance tale.

In the Cesear's Forum version, four actors read and analyze the text,
portray disjointed segments and various roles, and, according to the
director, examine the role of family in society.

The production works on some levels, stumbles on others.

On the positive side, the actors are generally good, and the action moves
right along.  Tricia Bestic and Rachel Wolin are excellent.

The difficulty is that unless you know the story of Pericles, the goings-on
may be too abstract, especially since the flow of ideas is fragmented.  In
addition, while they are quite effective, there is some over-shouting by
John Kolibab (who mainly portrays Pericles) and Gilgamesh Taggett (as
Antiochus and the director).  Though they convey their characters’
motivations, the loud volume in the small performance space becomes
somewhat overbearing.   The same effect could have been accomplished with
emphasis, rather than volume.

Capsule Judgement:  For those who are interested in seeing a version of
what may be the very little performed PERHAPS PERICLES, the Cesear's
Forum’s showing is a good opportunity.

PERHAPS PERICLES runs through May 4 at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 3
pm for the Sunday performances at Cesear’s Forum, located in Kennedy’s Down
Under, PlayhouseSquare. For information and reservations call 216-241-6000.

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