Cardenio is being described, with a certain flourish, as Shakespeare's lost play.
In fact, it is an impressive feat of literary archaeology. Its main basis is Double Falsehood, a pacy effort seen at Drury Lane in 1727. This was developed by the Shakespeare scholar and hack translator Lewis Theobald from a manuscript that allegedly fell into his hands - and supposedly reproduced a drama dating from 1613, on which Shakespeare is thought to have collaborated with John Fletcher.
The facts are murky, and Double Falsehood is imperfect. But Gregory Doran has fleshed it out ingeniously, revisiting the story's Spanish
sources and reshaping the text in the rehearsal room. What could have been a hotchpotch is coherent.
If the results sometimes sound curiously modern, there's nonetheless an authentic air of revenge tragedy. We are in 16th-century Andalusia, a place apparently suffused with religious anxiety. The characters seem desperate to break free of moral constraint.
Cardenio and Fernando are young men thwarted in love. While a relationship between Cardenio and elegant Luscinda is impeded by their fathers, wayward aristocrat Fernando lusts obnoxiously for humble Dorotea. Romantic carnage follows: a mix of rivalry, deception and impassioned pursuit. This involves rape, cross-dressing, abandonment, men sporting magnificent pointed hoods, dopey shepherds, guitar music and some amusing business with a coffin.
We never really doubt that the characters' problems will be resolved, but there are abruptly comic moments as well as painful ones along the way, and Doran and his bright cast make fun of the conventions of Shakespearean comedy.
Oliver Rix is likeable in the title role, Lucy Briggs-Owen gives a detailed performance as the somewhat petulant Luscinda, and Pippa Nixon brings wit and humanity to Dorotea. Most eye-catching, though, is Alex Hassell, who as Fernando is animated, thrustingly physical and at times vigorously goonish.
There's a nice joie de vivre in Doran's production, which features designs by Niki Turner.
In a typically crafty gesture, a foggy belt of mirror across the back wall seems to acknowledge that Cardenio is an incomplete reflection of Shakespeare's originality.
I have reservations about the play - in this and probably in any guise. It is too long, and we miss the condensed eloquence of Shakespeare's most skilfully wrought lines. Doran's confection will not become part of the Shakespeare canon. But it's a satisfying experiment, brought to life with verve.
Until October 6 (0844 800 1114)
Cardenio
RSC Swan
Stratford-upon-Avon
