Two Noble Kinsmen
The Globe, London

THIS early Jacobean play, attributed to Shakespeare but with substantial help from John Fletcher, brilliantly models a theatrical style and ethos popular at the time. Yet it still resonates today — egalitarian, collaborative, unconstrained and devoid of pretension, it really is theatre for the people.

The story, to be fair, is a bit of a shambles. Based on Chaucer’s early-mediaeval The Knight’s Tale and set in a land of Greek legend with contemporary English overtones, it tells of two young men, closely bonded cousins, who fall on hard times, fall for the same woman and fight to the death — though with a twist.

A sub-plot, in which a lovelorn girl goes mad, does little to raise the stakes, but somehow it doesn’t matter — this is theatre for theatre’s sake. There are moments of elevated prose, especially in Act I where you feel Shakespeare’s golden touch, but the play is also rooted in the vernacular, speaking simply to its audience and avoiding intellectualism like the plague. You just have to sit back, suspend your critical faculty and enjoy the moment.

In Barrie Rutter’s experienced and gifted hands, the production is sure-footed and never flags. Performed in the Globe under an open sky and with a whiff of swampy odours from the Thames, it gives the impression of something off-the-cuff, even improvised.

And the casting celebrates diversity in a way that's free from cliche, with a variety in the actors' heights, regional accents and ethnicity breaking down barriers and speaking to all. Francesca Mills, in particular, is a revelation as the Jailer’s Daughter.

Guided by Rutter, moments of heightened theatricality flow from an exceptionally creative team. Eliza Carthy’s music is superb, Ewan Wardrop’s choreography raises morris dancing from an anachronistic throwback to something current and meaningful, while Jessica Worrall and Anna Josephs bring us memorable costumes and imagery that, while drawing on ancient Greece and the middle ages, place us firmly in a timeless and mystical Forest of Arden or somewhere very like, capturing that sense of magic in art that can be so elusive.

Two Noble Kinsmen is not among the greats and there are numerous plays that do it better, but in this production we see theatre as it should be — creative, communicative, vibrant and inclusive. As in Shakespeare’s day, it feels like a treat for the workers.    

Runs until June 30, box office: shakespearesglobe.com