Rating:
Verdict: More commendable than enjoyable
Shakespeare's The Winter’s Tale is sometimes categorised as a ‘problem’ play. The problem is that some scholars think it’s an unhappy mix of tragedy and comedy.
All’s not well that doesn’t end as they like it, in the story of jealous King Leontes, who turns on his innocent wife, puts her on trial for adultery and abandons their newborn babe on a mountain.
The real problem, though, is how to help an audience enjoy a story that’s a freewheeling yarn playing fast and loose with time, space and a prophetic Oracle to achieve its magical conclusion.