Theatre / 65 min / £10(£8.50), £9(£7.50) / PG
Showing @ Pleasance Dome, 1-27 Aug (not 13, 21), 20.35
Panta Rei Theatre‘s Don Quixote! Don Quixote! may be staged in the Pleasance Dome, but it is set inside the brain of literature’s most famous madman. Unsurprising then that the story can feel a little disjointed. This production’s primary strength lies in the visuals, in particular, the ethereal dream of Dulcinea, who remains ever out of reach, and the hints of the horrors that torment Quixote. Dialogue veers between Spanish and English, sometimes incomprehensibly. The inclusion of Shakespearean-style philosophical clowns is marred by distracting accents, and attempts at comedy mostly fall flat. Don Quixote and Sancho are genuinely affecting though, and the pathos in their scenes hints at what might have been.