Amadeus
When a man discovers that in the face of genius he is a mediocrity, the result is a kind of tragedy – especially when the genius comes wrapped in foul-mouthed vulgarity.
Peter Shaffer's play has two colossal parts in the characters of Mozart and his inferior contemporary, Salieri, and both are impressively played in Hayling Island Amateur Dramatic Society's courageous production.
John Blackwell's Salieri has an aptly well-fed look alongside Carl Wood's boyishly hungry Mozart, and their appearances are reflected in their acting styles – one comfortable until despair and guilt batter their way in, the other physically and vocally dynamic.
Fiona Vinson makes Mozart's wife as vapid as Shaffer demands, and other performances range from fair to frankly unacceptable. But director Andy Wharton keeps the action moving – and large chunks of Mozart's most sublime music make other concerns irrelevant.
Until Saturday.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South

