Measure for Measure

Measure for Measure is having a moment. Mistrust towards governments, and heated debates around sex and sexuality, have made Shakespeare’s 'problem play' a popular choice for several companies over the last couple of years. Cheek by Jowl’s acclaimed Russian-language production is surely the best of the bunch – offering a stripped-back staging of a pared-down text, drawing focus onto that central dilemma facing novice nun Isabella: should she sleep with the corrupt Lord Angelo to save her brother Claudio, condemned to death for fornication under puritanical Viennese law?

Designer Nick Ormerod’s signature minimalism is in full force here, with a set comprised of four red boxes, swung around at intervals to reveal visual fragments of offstage action: prisoners with Guantanamo-style bags over their heads, or a wildly humping couple. Period costumes rub up against sleazy contemporary fetish garb to create a kind of Renaissance-Europe-meets-Berlin-sex-club vibe.

Director Declan Donnellan keeps his cast onstage almost throughout, functioning as a kind of all-seeing chorus as they walk in unison around each scene. He skilfully injects raw human drama and psychological intrigue into this brash, stylised aesthetic, with the play’s dramatic ending staged as a modern, mediatised political standoff in front of braying crowds. Once again, this acclaimed international company disproves the argument that the joy of watching Shakespeare is solely in the language – striking design and intelligent dramaturgy ensure that the play has never felt more raw, charged and relevant.