William Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale" is a nearly even split between unrelenting tragedy and comic romance. The current two-week run of the play by the Gamaliel Theatre Company of Durham is, in contrast, an uneven staging of this, one of Shakespeare's later and less frequently performed plays. According to director Steve Knight, the company selected "The Winter's Tale" to put on this summer with the goal of feeling less constrained by precedence in their interpretation of the characters and language that are the focus of this particular run. Only six actors share the more than 20 roles in the minimalist production, and the result is a mixed bag.

The first half of the play deals with a king's jealousy over what he falsely believes to be his queen's infidelity. Torn apart by jealousy, King Leontes of Sicilia, in a blind rage, wreaks havoc on those around him, and it's this tragic arc to which most of the first three acts are devoted. Christopher Savage's portrayal of Leontes' near hysterical jealousy worked, for the most part. At times, he wore the king's anger like an ill-fitted suit, but for the bulk of the first half, Savage effectively conveyed the irrational ire of a ruler ruled by his own emotions, especially when projecting sullen, on-the-edge fury. Ben Husmann's Polixenes, King of Bohemia and the man Leontes suspects of carrying on with his wife, doesn't hold up quite as well, sounding more like the announcer at a boxing match than a king (or a human being). Also distracting is Traci Gardner's rendition of Hermione, the chaste and faithful Queen of Sicilia. She doesn't seem to have much life, or fire, for a role that seems far too vacant for a character-driven production.

Then come Acts 4 and 5 and a 16-year jump forward in time to the Kingdom of Bohemia, ruled over by the man Leontes once suspected of cuckolding him. The tone of the play shifts markedly from this point as the plot runs through a series of reunions, romances and comic interludes, undoing, for the most part, the damage done by Leontes' jealousy. Savage, who plays Leontes, also plays the Old Shepherd here, the man who raised Leontes' daughter unbeknownst to the king, and it is by far the funniest performance of the play, coming across as a kind of aged farmer from somewhere in rural Maine. The last two acts are also the strongest of the show; once the action and dialogue pick up the pace, the actors seem more comfortable in their many roles and inhabit the language more fully and meaningfully.

Of all the actors, though, Alan Huisman gives the best performances. Huisman plays, among other roles, Camillo, a Lord of Sicilia, and he is the only actor who consistently speaks Shakespeare's words as if they were his characters' words, not lines from a dust-covered script but the spoken language of people struggling in real situations. Not once does Huisman break character, not once does he exist in that church, in that room, in our time.

In fairness, this is clearly a company working with little money, trying to take it to the next level. The church they perform in, Durham Community Church, certainly did the job, especially for a company that strives to create theater that is "specifically influenced by a Judeo-Christian worldview."

However, the absence of the bear that chases one of the Sicilian lords was conspicuous, especially given the fact that the slogan for this production is "Six Actors. Two Kingdoms. And a Bear." Maybe if circumstances keep improving for Gamaliel, they can afford the bear next time around. Even a furry mask would do.

Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale" continues through Aug. 22 at Durham Community Church, Main St. Tickets are $8-$10. Call 603-868-1088.