Menander’s The Shieldis comedy in its finest form. The
suberb translation by Giles Evans is complemented by fine acting,
especially by Rose Pater’s Miss Fortune/Doctor and Philip
Contos’ Davos. From the opening humming of Swing Low Sweet
Chariot as the slaves are brought in to be observed by David
Cochrane’s Smikrines, to the final moments, this is a play
full of atmosphere, hilarity, wit and ingenuity. The spirit of Menander’s writings has been perfectly
captured, with a perfect mix of innuendo, subtlety and
tragi-comedy. It is a testament to the flexibility and talent of
the cast that they can switch so easily from character to
character. This enables the play to move swiftly in a
well-polished manner, and also highlights the farcical side of
the play. The scene in which Caraestratus must convince Smikrines
of his illness is hilarious, as are many of the lines in the
play. Mime and gestures are also used effectively to enhance the
script and all the actors are extremely gifted at this. Alexandra
Fielding is truly hilarious in her role as the wife. Although it takes some time to work out how the characters
interlink, once one gets involved in the play and becomes
familiar with the characters, one realises that this is a great
play – enjoyable, funny and with some highly talented acting
thrown in. The originality and uniqueness of the play mean that
that the actors seem to enjoy being in it which all adds up to a
thoroughly amusing performance.ARCHIVE: 1st week TT 2004
The Shield
