Moby Dick
Guest review by Andrew Clarke.
Sometimes adapting great works of literature for the stage is a rather literal affair. Sets are sturdy, realistic, and rather dull. Other adaptations, like the current production of Moby Dick at The New Wolsey, are bright and breezy, with an adaptable open set which allows creativity to flow.
This production by Simple8 theatre company is also hugely atmospheric – the fast-paced action is laced with evocative period music, sea shanties, and even church hymns, which give the audience an immediate sense of place and time.
There’s also some wonderful lighting which transports us to the precarious, seafaring world of Nantucket in the 1850s.
This is a time where men risked their lives to go hunting whales, which when boiled down would provide thousands of gallons of oil to make candles, soap, and fuel for oil lamps.
During this taut 100 minute show, director Jesse Jones and his wonderful lighting team take us from dockside boarding houses to ships in a storm and finally to a duel to the death.
The opening line of “Call me Ishmael” is the only thing which is predictable about this gem of a show. Whereas the novel is largely about obsession and Captain Ahab’s need for revenge, this latest adaptation is also about the camaraderie on board ship - about the bonds that are formed between the disparate men on board. Loyalty and friendship mean a lot on the whaling ship, The Pequod.
The crew are vividly brought to life by a talented ensemble cast (Mark Arends, Jonathan Charles, Hannah Emanuel, Syreeta Kumar, Hazel Monaghan, James Newton, William Pennington, Guy Rhys, and Tom Swale) who are a mix of actors who can play musical instruments and a pair of musicians who can act.
The characters are as rich and vibrant as the staging and are carefully drawn to be bold, attention-grabbing individuals. Each member of the crew has a distinct personality which makes the whole show come alive and makes us, as an audience, identify with the people in the story - they draw us in.
Our host is the charismatic, if somewhat impecunious, schoolteacher Ishmail. He narrates the tale and offers some tangential educational asides along the way – so you come away from the show knowing a little more about whales and whaling than you did when you came in.
Jesse Jones’s staging is glorious. The set is open and wide. A canvas sail hangs from the back, a stepped stage occupies the main acting space, flanked by two angular pieces of scaffolding. Barrels and planks of wood are used to transform this space into a sailing vessel, a dockside tavern, below decks sleeping quarters, and a pair of row boats.
The cast effect these changes simply and quickly, often while lustily singing a song of the sea. At one point they even create a whale on stage out of cleverly designed ribs.
It's a thrilling, imaginatively realised piece of theatre and it will leave you with a bounce in your step and song in your heart. Catch it while you can.
Moby Dick is at New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich until 18 May 2024.
FOR FULL SHOW DETAILS AND BOOKING LINK, CLICK HERE