THE BOOK OF GRACE at the Arcola Theatre

★★★★★

“The acting maintains an astounding level of intensity, with tiny looks and touches between the cast changing the atmosphere in an instant”

The electricity was palpable during the finale of this layered and explosive production from the eminent writer Suzan-Lori Parks. Director Femi Elufowoju jr draws out big performances from the cast of three, with haunting staging emphasising the themes of division, secrecy, boundaries, and the green shoots of redemption.

The piece is set on the US-Mexico border, where Vet (Peter De Jersey), a border patrol guard is about to be honoured for his work intercepting migrants. He chooses different terms to describe them, many offensive, and sees the patrol more as a calling than a job. A screen flickers on the wall, live streaming footage of the border.

William Fricker and Rae Smith’s set further feeds into Vet’s obsession with delineating the other. Imposing scaffolding bisects the stage, with a US flag ripped to shreds on barbed wire suspended at the top. There are a palimpsest of hidden pits and nooks that are revealed over time, but covered over to be almost imperceptible on first view.

Vet’s son, Buddy (Daniel Fancis-Swaby), opts to visit, for the first time in 15 years, apparently to honour his father and attend this ceremony. It is clear (even from the length of absence) that their relationship has been difficult in the past, so it seems like this gesture may go some way to repairing what has been broken. However, currents still run deep, and the return does not have wholly wholesome motivations. He is revealed to be on a vengeance mission, and is on the lookout for three strikes of evidence which frame the piece in a menacing countdown.

Contrasting their disturbances, Grace is a breath of fresh air, often arriving on stage with a song in Ellena Vincent’s rich alto, or through classics played through an old radio set. She collects good-news stories in her Book of Grace which provides the other narrative framing device, setting out chapters, and providing context. Initially this can seem jarring and one dimensional, but Parks’ piece introduces doubt as to their veracity, and the snippets of fantasy, particularly around a story of a dog, grows in significance.

There is so much circularity and detail in the piece, from names, to symbolism of uniforms and clothing, to ritual washing and drenching, and it feels like nothing goes to waste. The acting maintains an astounding level of intensity, with tiny looks and touches between the cast changing the atmosphere in an instant. The closing scenes are so well choreographed by Kemi Durosinmi, that I do not think a single person in the audience took a breath for the final ten minutes.

This is an incredibly accomplished piece of theatre, addressing so many of the themes that are pertinent in the current political environment. The acting, direction and staging are all richly thought through, and absolutely do justice to Parks’ superb material.

THE BOOK OF GRACE at the Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 20th May 2024

by Rosie Thomas

Photography by Alex Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

LIFE WITH OSCAR | ★★★ | April 2024

WHEN YOU PASS OVER MY TOMB | ★★★★★ | February 2024

SPUTNIK SWEETHEART | ★★★ | October 2023

GENTLEMEN | ★★★★ | October 2023

THE BRIEF LIFE & MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF BORIS III, KING OF BULGARIA | ★★★★★ | September 2023

THE WETSUITMAN | ★★★ | August 2023

UNION | ★★★ | July 2023

DUCK | ★★★★ | June 2023

POSSESSION | ★★★★★ | June 2023

UNDER THE BLACK ROCK | ★★★ | March 2023

THE BOOK OF GRACE

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★★★

“his command of accents and impersonation is considerable.”

During Nick Cohen’s “Life with Oscar”, we are increasingly reminded of the old aphorism concerning barks and bites. Or perhaps, more appropriately, that thing about tins and what is said on them. Cohen may be barking mad, but his seventy-minute show about his experiences in Hollywood doesn’t have the bite we were expecting. The marketing copy promises something more dangerous; darker and more revelatory.

Perhaps the anecdotal material is spread too thin. He adopts thirty-one characters in little over an hour after all. He begins as himself, affable and self-deprecatory. A self-confessed wannabe director and actor. Betraying his ‘Theatre de Complicité’ training he whirls us backwards and forwards in time with sharp movements, and his command of accents and impersonation is considerable. It’s quite convoluted, but the main thrust of the narrative is that he is invited to Hollywood by a double Oscar winner who promises Cohen a short cut to his own Oscar win. Preceding this, though, we spend a fair chunk of the evening in the company of the child Cohen – precocious yet naïve, and programmed to fulfil the failed dreams of his celebrity parents.

The dream that Cohen takes to ‘La La Land’ with him is an unformed idea for a short film. The escapades that follow are similarly unformed and sometimes anticlimactic. And although we are asked to believe that each anecdote is verbatim, we are aware of the artistic licence taken. And therein lies the frustration. Cohen plays with the truth too gently. We are enticed by the promise of portraits of the psychopaths, the crazies, the predators and the prey. A descent into the madness of Tinseltown. But it is gentler than that. A comfortable performer, Cohen doesn’t always have a tight hold on our attention and the multitude of characters often pass by in a blur.

He has chosen a theme that is well documented already on film and in modern literature. We are obviously not expecting the outrageous excess of Damien Chazelle’s ‘Babylon’, nor the incisive prose of Budd Schulberg’s ‘The Disenchanted’. However, we are let down by Cohen’s inconsequential and indulgent writing. Writing that never quite hits its target. He talks of eventually escaping Hollywood, yet we never get the sense that he was trapped there. He equates his producer friend’s illusory promise of securing him an Oscar with the failure of the American Dream. This self-aggrandising is at odds with the self-deprecating modesty that informs the comedy of the piece – Cohen is better at mocking himself than the famous names he keeps dropping.

“Life with Oscar” isn’t quite what it says on the tin. Cohen has prised open the lid to give us a glimpse of what might be inside, but we are left thinking that he has less to tell us than what’s on the label. He can certainly spin a yarn, though, and the show is peppered with good humour. But ultimately a bit of an anti-climax.

THE BOOK OF GRACE at the Arcola Theatre

★★★★★

“The acting maintains an astounding level of intensity, with tiny looks and touches between the cast changing the atmosphere in an instant”

THE BOOK OF GRACE at the Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 20th May 2024

by Rosie Thomas

Photography by Alex Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE BOOK OF GRACE

THE BOOK OF GRACE

LIFE WITH OSCAR at the Arcola Theatre

★★★

“his command of accents and impersonation is considerable.”

LIFE WITH OSCAR at the Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 3rd April 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by G Taylor

Previously reviewed at this venue:

LIFE WITH OSCAR

LIFE WITH OSCAR