Theatre

There’s a smidgen of irony about the fact that Cheek by Jowl is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary by moving into the Barbican, once the home of the RSC, for a three-year season in which director Declan Donnellan and designer Nick Ormerod will each year present one production by the British company and one by its Russian counterpart (‘Cheek by Jowlski’, as Donnellan likes to call it). Their first British production will be of Middleton and Rowley’s ‘The Changeling’ with Olivia Williams, to be followed later in the year by a wonderfully melancholic, all-male Russian version of ‘Twelfth Night’.

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The irony lies in the fact that when Donnellan and Ormerod set up Cheek by Jowl in 1981, having recently graduated from Cambridge, they could never have imagined replacing the RSC in its London base. They staged productions of the classics that, in contrast to the RSC’s, were flexible and fleet of foot and concentrated almost entirely on the acting rather than on any grand directorial concept. Cheek by Jowl’s hugely popular productions of Shakespeare at the Donmar became legendary for turning on young audiences who had previously suffered from Bardophobia. As the RSC struggled to maintain its ensemble, C by J had no trouble at all in putting together young, lively companies to tour the world. In the process they found a new generation of talent, including Amanda Harris, Simon Dormandy, David Morrissey, Tom Hollander and Adrian Lester, the last most memorable as a six foot Rosalind in ‘As You Like It’. C by J has always pioneered gender- and colour-blind casting, provoking a great storm of controversy in France by casting black actor William Nadylam as Rodrigue – one of the great classical roles in French drama.

In the early ’80s, C by J’s repertoire was unusual in being almost entirely classical. Many of the plays, such as Racine’s ‘Andromache’, Calderón’s ‘The Doctor of Honour’ and Ostrovsky’s ‘A Family Affair’, were British premieres. As Thatcherite economics kicked in, acquiring an income through international touring was essential. Like Complicite which was launched at roughly the same time , C by J became as famous in Bangladesh and Buenos Aires as it was in Bournemouth and Birmingham.

If touring was hard work, the advantage was that it broke down some of the parochialism of British theatre. Donnellan and Ormerod, partners at home as well as at work, revelled in their itinerant life. The former, an ebullient, indiscreet Irish Londoner, and the other more reserved and pukka, they made good company in the bar after the show. They also forged links with Peter Brook in Paris and with Lev Dodin in St Petersburg, the latter a link which was later to open up a whole new career in Russia, where they instantly seemed at home. The influence of Stanislavsky on Donnellan’s book on acting – ‘The Actor and the Target’ – is clear, and in return they have been given a respect and appreciation which I witnessed for myself at an extravagant Russian banquet in Moscow. Our interpreter was in a high state of excitement at being surrounded by her favourite actors, while all the Russian luminaries appeared equally excited to be meeting Donnellan and Ormerod. They are the only non-Russians to have received the Golden Mask Theatre Award.

Not every production has been equally successful. Each one depends so heavilly on the quality of the acting that weaknesses are quickly exposed. Sometimes the insistence that the actors sit onstage throughout the production feels dull and uninspired; sometimes it creates a terrific air of concentration. Donnellan’s skill is to explore the complexity of emotions undermining any glib presumptions. His production of ‘Angels in America’ at the National was a tour de force given the baggy nature of Tony Kushner’s text. Ormerod’s designs are simplicity themselves and yet surely few could forget the way in which the Forest of Arden was created out of green streamers enhanced by Judith Greenwood’s lighting. She is one of several talented people who have been involved with the company for a very long time.

In 1998, Donnellan and Ormerod put the company on hold for a while as they had finally grown exhausted by the constant touring and wanted to follow up invitations to work outside Cheek by Jowl – sometimes, even, not together . But some unhappy experiences made them realise that they needed to be very specific about the conditions in which they did their best work. Independence and control are crucial. The Barbican stage is a big one to fill, but if all goes well, it should offer the best of both worlds: the opportunity to put down roots without losing any of the freedom that has given the company its creative flair.