Madame De Sade by Yukio Mishima until 23rd May 2009

Published by: Elspeth Rae on 18th Apr 2009 | View all blogs by Elspeth Rae

I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy Mishima's play set in 18th century Paris. Although I love a lot of Japanese writing translated into English (Haruki Murakami being one of my chosen authors to have with me if, God forbid, I was ever to be left suddenly on a desert island beach) I am aware of the peculiarities and intricacies of language that can be lost in translation.

For me, the experience was centred wholly around being in the same room as Dame Judy Dench, enjoyment of the play came second by a long shot.
It's a difficult one. Madame De Sade deals with issues of familial and marital bonds as well as paying some attention to the strangeness of the French aristocracy of this time. Comtese de Saint Fond played impeccably and wonderfully by Frances Barber was a joy to watch and epitomised the women of the court of that time obsessed by gaining sexual power over men- even men who are married to their acquaintances.

I was also pleasantly surprised by Rosamund Pike's performance as Renee, Madam De Sade. Playing opposite Judi Dench in so many scenes would have made even the most experienced of actors quake in their boots, but she held her own, convincingly portraying a woman refusing to leave her man, however desperate and at times ridiculous the situation became.

This, I believe was the central problem of the production. Not the actors, Dench's sublime voice alone making the experience worthwhile, but the play itself. There were times when the reasons behind Renee staying with her husband got lost in the language and the superflous poetics. I don't know if this was, as I mentioned previously a case of being 'lost in translation', but the dialougue often felt strained and too much. In fact, it was so over-developed that at times I often felt I didn't care what happened in the story. Which was a shame as anything with such a stellar cast should hold its own easily.

Go and see it, the Donmar do some great deals on last minute tickets as well as good student offers, even if its just to get inspiration from actors who have shaped and in the case of Pike and Button potentially shaping, the course of acting history.