STAGE REVIEW: The Two Noble Kinsmen - at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until February 7, 2017.

PASSION and jealousy, it would seem, are ill-fated bedfellows - at least according to this considerably rarely performed Shakespeare-cum-Fletcher play.

Jointly scribed by the bard, Will, and fellow playwright John, its sudden surge out of the darkness to the spotlights of the Swan’s stage marks the 30th year of the theatre’s opening and when this most unusual play was also last performed on the boards at Stratford.

It’s not easy to know quite what to make of this Jacobean tragicomedy which has a plot derived from The Knight’s Tale in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and was written in Shakespeare’s latter years and Fletcher’s formative ones.

Who, it could be wondered, had the greater influence on this 400 year old tale which worryingly has both plot and text that at best can be described as quite strange. On the surface it appears simple enough - two knights - brothers-in-arms, well cousins actually, and a love triangle. But there follows a complex and intricate mix along side streets and even a cul-de-sac.

The two nobles of the title, Arcite and Palamon, are played with considerable substance and style by Jamie Wilkes and James Corrigan, and it’s their falling out which is the nub of the action. However, there are any number of distractions not just with the plot but also with some of the garish outfits and props which popped up to provide further cause for thought, if not concern.

It’s perhaps wiser to ignore the confusion of over-the top costumes such as unusual headwear, plastic boobs, silver and leather suits… and even prancing fallic symbols, not to mention an amazing Athenian carrying a chainsaw…

A chainsaw? Don’t ask!

Anna Fleischle’s set didn’t exactly set the pulse racing. It had the aura of a subway in a down-at-heel town centre, or maybe the exit point on the terraces of a run-down lower division football club, and the concrete theme continued around the thrust-stage with blocks to house the steel cages of a prison.

There’s a definite boldness though thanks to director Blanche McIntyre, who was maybe attempting to be too provocative on her RSC debut, but in the end it did bind well and who can argue when a play is so enthusiastically appreciated by a near full house.

Wilkes and Corrigan, whose characters fall in love with the same beauty Emilia, beguilingly played by Frances McNamee, are the core to all that occurs. Their jealous squabbles, their crisp linguistic banter on the battlefield or in their cells was as dazzling and scintillating as their sword scraps.

There are times when the play rattles along with fine moments of comedy, immense tension and drama but the ending, which did provide a complete conclusion, was nevertheless slightly tame.

There’s bags of energy from the cast though who make an exceedingly good job of a play which could well go on the back burner again for a number of years.

  • Running time is around three hours, including an interval of 20 minutes.