Tag Archives: Guy Masterson

THE MARILYN CONSPIRACY

★★★★

Park Theatre

THE MARILYN CONSPIRACY at Park Theatre

★★★★

“Genevieve Gaunt captures the mannerisms and the breathy vocals without resorting to cliché”

Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson’s “The Marilyn Conspiracy” is an intricately structured new drama, that undulates chronologically. Like a pendulum, swinging between the ‘before’ and ‘after’; in the centre of which lies the tragic and untimely death of Marilyn Monroe. The play hangs above the events like the sword of Damocles, waiting to fall and slice through the rumours, the scandal and conspiracy theories to get to the truth. Although when it does drop, the penetration is only skin deep. The writing and the performances are incisive, but the writers prefer to leave the outer layers unscathed. We are never entirely sure whether to trust their version of events or to draw our own conclusions.

Sixty years on from her death, the jury is still out. Officially ruled as probable suicide, no evidence of foul play was found. Despite the coroner’s findings, several conspiracy theories have been proposed. The case was reviewed in 1982 but the original findings were upheld. Masterson, who also directs, lays on the evidence of foul play thick and fast, presenting us with a very filmic piece of theatre that grips throughout – enhanced by Jack Arnold’s moody and atmospheric compositions. Film Noir meets Columbo, with touches of Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie. ‘Who Killed Monroe’ could be a suitable subtitle as motive and opportunity are relayed around the room like a tense game of ‘pass the parcel’. Threats said in the heat of the moment are later forensically picked apart and used as, not just evidence, but proof. As details leak, suspicions grow, and fingers point. Lies are uncovered, but then covered up before you can say ‘Happy Birthday’ to a president.

Monroe is such an icon that has unfortunately become a caricature in the public’s memory. However, Genevieve Gaunt captures the mannerisms and the breathy vocals without resorting to cliché. We get a real feel of her playfulness as well as her histrionics and instability. To a lesser extent we glimpse the savvy side of Monroe’s character, the emphasis being on the trivial gossip. Which is a delight. Giggling and spicy conversations with her close friend Pat Newcomb (Susie Amy – in wonderful form as loyal defender, supporter and confidant) provide comic relief from the dark revelations revealed posthumously.

McKellar has clearly done her research. The source material is wide, yet she focuses on quite a narrow part of the picture, leading Robert and John Kennedy centre stage without actually bringing either of them onto the stage. Instead, we have their sister Patricia and her husband Peter Lawford as a kind of good-cop-bad-cop duo. Declan Bennett’s Peter is the closest we have to the villain of the piece: his brothers’ lackey sent to staunch a leak that could topple the administration. Having failed, more drastic measures are needed – and therein lies the crux of the narrative. The stakes are high, and the skilled performances raise them higher still as the cast navigate the sharp and penetrating narrative structure. A special mention must be made of last-minute replacement, Natasha Colenso, as Patricia Kennedy-Lawford. A pre-show announcement explained that she would be on the book, but you had to look very hard indeed to notice.

Everybody thinks they know everything about Marilyn Monroe, and consequently has their own theory about her demise. This show sheds little light on the heroine herself, but it does authentically portray the dubious afterglow of her departure. Very much character lead, it is above all a beguiling study in political coercion and one’s willingness to bow down to it. Sally Mortemore’s nuanced depiction of Monroe’s housemaid, Eunice Murray, is a prime and realistically disturbing example of this dichotomy.

We may not be presented with undisputed fact, but we feel that we are dangerously close to it. McKellar takes us behind closed doors and shows us the intricate mechanisms of the quintessential ’cover up’. When the pieces come together, whether true or not, what we have is ‘history’. It’s a daunting concept. “The Marilyn Conspiracy” perhaps treats this concept with a bit too much bias and preconception. But the mix of polemic and entertainment value is perfectly balanced. A thrilling piece of theatre.

 


THE MARILYN CONSPIRACY at Park Theatre

Reviewed on 24th June 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by NUX Photography

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

IVO GRAHAM: CAROUSEL | ★★★★ | June 2024
A SINGLE MAN | ★★★★ | May 2024
SUN BEAR | ★★★ | April 2024
HIDE AND SEEK | ★★★★ | March 2024
COWBOYS AND LESBIANS | ★★★★ | February 2024
HIR | ★★★★ | February 2024
LEAVES OF GLASS | ★★★★ | January 2024
KIM’S CONVENIENCE | ★★★★ | January 2024
21 ROUND FOR CHRISTMAS | ★★★★ | December 2023
THE TIME MACHINE – A COMEDY | ★★★★ | December 2023
IKARIA | ★★★★ | November 2023
PASSING | ★★★½ | November 2023

THE MARILYN CONSPIRACY

THE MARILYN CONSPIRACY

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Picasso

Picasso

★★★

The Playground Theatre

PICASSO at The Playground Theatre

★★★

Picasso

“A glimpse of the potential of what Tate can achieve with the piece, we long to break down the door and see more of the full picture”

 

Pablo Picasso’s father started taking him to brothels in Southern Spain at the age of thirteen, instilling in the young man a sexual desire that would prove to be a burden but also an inspiration throughout his career. He would go on to have two wives, a good half dozen celebrated mistresses and countless lovers. Some of his most iconic works feature these subjects, so it is no surprise that they are also the subject of many books, plays, films and popular music.

According to Terry d’Alfonso’s “Picasso”, the artist’s insatiability and tenuous hold on fidelity is rooted in his relationship with his mother; and the betrayal he felt upon his sister being born when he was two years old. The birth is graphically and anatomically described, but more so the sense of betrayal that little Pablo felt. Peter Tate, who bears a striking resemblance to Picasso, pulls back a thin, gauze curtain to reveal himself, addressing the audience as though he were presenting mitigating circumstances in a court of law. It is done with a curious mix of self-congratulation and self-deprecation, the former unfortunately outweighing the latter. We occasionally catch a twinkle in Tate’s eye but for the most part we get a fairly unsympathetic portrayal of the character. What the writing does show, however, is the contradiction between the respect for Picasso’s legacy and the disrespect for his use and abuse of women.

Originally staged at the same venue in 2017, Tate has since dispensed with the supporting cast, adapting the piece into a one man show. The women are still present as projections onto the flowing back curtain, like silent movie stars. We miss the substance, though, and feel that their voices are taken away to be manipulated by Picasso himself. This could be a deliberate ploy by Tate, but it strips our sympathies further.

The narrative comes from beyond the grave and is directed to the audience, almost like a lecture at times, – often focusing on the women. “You ladies here are lucky I am already dead”. Self-assured and poised, Tate mixes Picasso’s lines and those of his women, and adds generous doses of background information. But given the short running time we are offered just sketches. Olga Khokhlova, his first wife, who left Picasso after he had impregnated his model and mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter. Dora Maar followed, or rather overlapped. The personalities fail to come across in this staging. There is no real sense of the significance of these formidable women; especially Marr, who was the one who fiercely challenged Picasso – emotionally and intellectually. We also briefly see art student Françoise Gilot, and one of Picasso’s last loves Geneviève Laporte. And finally, there is Jacqueline Roque who, forty-five years his junior, became his second wife.

It is like keyhole theatre (is that a phrase? If not, I’ll take the credit for coining it!) in that we get a restricted view of Picasso and the women in his life. A glimpse of the potential of what Tate can achieve with the piece, we long to break down the door and see more of the full picture. Whether it is budgetary or artistic criteria that relegated the female roles from flesh to fantasy, the voices need more than just one channel. But it is a channel that, under Guy Masterson’s direction, is bravely and charismatically explored by Tate. A bit of a tease though – we ultimately feel that something is being held back. Either that, or Tate needs to be given a freer rein to really take this role by the horns. A tantalising taste of what could have been is finally revealed in the stunning final moments.

 

 

Reviewed on 26th January 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Brigitta Scholz-Mastroianni Nux Photography

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

 

Rehab the Musical | ★★★★★ | September 2022

 

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