The Glasgow Repertory Company, nothing if not ambitious, is performing five Shakespeare works in the idyllic Botanic Gardens over the next month. One of them is A Midsummer Night's Dream, that favourite of outdoor-theatre lovers, but others are not obvious choices. Kicking off the season is this Measure for Measure, the study of power and corruption with a psychological depth that presents a challenge in the open air.
But it is the ambiguous shifts that make it such a fascinating play. Are the motives of the Duke of Vienna (David Caird) benign when he leaves his state in the control of his deputy (Simeon Wren), only to watch his progress from the sidelines in disguise? Or is he a manipulative puppet master conducting a callous social experiment? Should we regard the moral inconsistency of the key characters as a celebration of the human spirit in all its variety or a cynical commentary on our self-serving natures? Or is it a play about pragmatism?
Such questions are not easily resolvable, but you get little sense that Kate Varney's production has tried - at least not until the last minute, when she denies us a happy ending, thereby undermining the Duke's claim to the moral high ground. This is a straightforward period-costume staging that favours clarity over inquisition. Granted, in terms of lucidity, it outshines many a production of considerably greater resources. On a perfect summer's night beneath the trees, it holds the audience for every one of its intelligently spoken words.
Yes, the lowlife scenes are a little too broad, the heated exchanges are too impassioned too soon, and the performances lack complexity. But the young company is always brisk, tightly drilled and engaging. The only shame is that, having achieved such a high level of competence, it hasn't pushed itself further. It could have made something of the outdoor setting, acted with as much ambiguity as the play is written and, above all, revealed some greater purpose for performing it in the first place.
· Until July 6. Box office: 0141-334 3995.
