SHAKESPEARE'S tale of jealousy, bitterness and the overriding power of love was vividly brought to life on the Playhouse stage in front of a captivated audience. The all-male cast created a production that even those unacquainted with The Winter's Tale, or even the Bard himself, could not have failed to understand. Leontes's irrational jealousy of his fellow king - and best friend - Polixenes, in believing he is capable of cuckolding him with his cherished queen Hermione sets the dark atmosphere that pervades the first half of the play. As he lets his nightmarish emotions drive him to casting out his wife, friend and even newborn baby, the already eerie atmosphere grows ever more disturbing. Richard Clothier conveys his descent into madness like he has experienced those same emotions himself. At first it is a little alarming to see the play as Shakespeare would have imagined it, with the graceful women, so admired by the male courtiers, sporting stubble, deep voices and a pregnant bump, but you soon fall into empathy with their plights. The hairy chests peeking out beneath a feminine white robe are soon forgotten and the refinement and strong character of the wronged queen perfectly portrayed by Simon Scarfield, who appeared here last year in A Passage to India. The crumbling monarchy is reflected in the state of the stage set, a metal framework lined with filthy glass tiles and miniature wooden dolls, contorted into the unfortunate fates of the characters. But as dark and despairing as the first half of the play is, the second act is light and jolly. Improbably, a group of men converted into sheep with the help of woollen rugs and rudimentary leather masks drew waves of laughter from the audience. Deserted in rural Bohemia, Leontes daughter Perdita falls in love with Polixenes's son Florizel and the drama heads towards a perfect conclusion. All the schoolchildren in the city struggling with Shakespeare should be given the chance to see this production. | 
