Volpone

Abstract

Reviewed by: Volpone Amber Ash VolponePresented by Tangle Theatre Company at Exeter Phoenix Theatre. 02 26, 2020. Adapted and directed by Anna Coombs. Set and costume by Colin Falconer. Lighting by Christopher Nairne. Music composed and directed by John Pfumojena. Sound by Drew Baumohl. With Munashe Chirisa (Mosca/ Celia), Ché Francis (Voltore/Corbaccio/Corvino/Bonario), and Marshall Defender Nyanhete (Volpone). Stepping onto the stage area as the opening night of Tangle's tour of Ben Jonson's Volponewas about to start, artistic director Anna Coombs announced that Munashe Chirisa had stepped into the roles of Mosca and Celia with only two days of rehearsal, and would be performing script-in-hand. This ostensible spanner in the works set the tone for a night of makeshift, chaotic revelry in Coombs's stripped-back Volpone, complete with extensive character doubling and Colin Falconer's playful set. Tangle is a touring theater company based in South West England, accustomed to reinventing classics (such as Doctor Faustusin 2018) in its distinctive style. Fusing early modern, South African Township, and contemporary western theater practices, this production delighted in its mishmash aesthetics and clumsy theatricality, producing a farcical romp that, for the most part, justmanaged to hold together. An ensemble of just three, the actors flitted between characters in decreasingly smooth transitions that were played up for comic effect. With increasing zest as the play unfolded, Volpone (Marshall Defender Nyanhete) called offstage to a tardy Mosca (Munashe Chirisa), who could often be seen—and heard—hastily changing costume behind the strip curtains that formed the back of the set. Such slapstick moments resisted growing tiresome due to convincing character doubling. Characters were signaled by physicality, voice, and staging, as light-up names flashed and were moved around to signpost characters, both heightening the chaos of the play and keeping the audience up to speed. Shedding his costume changes in the final act, Ché Francis revealed such signposting to be unnecessary as he shifted effortlessly between Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino, showcasing his physical and vocal versatility. Before Volpone's opening monologue, the ensemble dynamic of the production was foregrounded by an opening song led by Chirisa and Francis, in which Francis in particular stood out for his powerful vocals and stage presence. Nyanhete provided a nimble and playful Volpone, light on his feet and revealing his schemes to the audience with glee. [End Page 679]Positioning himself so far downstage that he all but touched the audience—enhanced by the front row of the Phoenix's stalls being level with the stage area—he quickly established that the audience was not just observer but, more importantly, confidante. Chirisa provided a charismatic Mosca to Nyanhete's Volpone, often outshining his co-star. While frequently referring to his script, he made up for his textual uncertainty with a confident physicality, which impressively gave his words immediacy and authenticity even as he read them. This onstage ease was present too in his chemistry with Nyanhete, with whom Chirisa had worked in Tangle's 2018 production of Water, Bread, and Salt. However, more could have been made of their relationship. The omission of Volpone's desire to "Transform thee [Mosca] to a Venus!" (5.3.104) constituted a missed opportunity for metatheatrical punning on his doubling with Celia and a homoerotic dimension to their relationship. Another potential casualty of the last-minute actor swap, with a male actor taking over parts rehearsed by a female actor (Lakesha Cammock), was the representation of Celia, whose ill-treatment was handled with a lack of gravity. While Chirisa was compelling to watch, and the crossdressing was almost fitting in its Renaissance resonance, it is—generally speaking—difficult for an audience to take seriously a man in a dress, particularly if he is still untucking this dress from his shorts as he rushes onstage. The character did not seem to be taken seriously: Chirisa promptly dashed off after brief stints as Celia to reappear as the more important Mosca, and I was unsettled by her attempted rape generating as much laughter from the audience as it did discomfort. Yet the staging choices of the production suggested a more serious intent, as...