Tag Archives: Howard Brenton

Creditors
★★★★

Jermyn Street Theatre

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Creditors

Creditors

Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed – 29th April 2019

★★★★

 

“the chemistry between all three of the actors is totally delectable”

 

Poor August Strindberg. Despite being just as instrumental to the rise of naturalist drama, the Swedish writer has always played second fiddle to his contemporary Henrik Ibsen, and is often relegated to the footnotes of theatre history. Luckily, Howard Brenton is on hand to provide adaptations of some of Strindberg’s best work at the Jermyn Street Theatre, that seek to remind audiences that his writing was just as seminal as that of A Doll’s House or Hedda Gabler.

Creditors, initially written in 1888 ostensibly centres on Adolf (James Sheldon), a painter and sculptor whose anxieties about his new wife Tekla’s (Dorothea Myer-Bennett) faithfulness towards him are exacerbated by an intellectual new friend (David Sturzaker) he’s made. I use the word ‘ostensibly’, because as the plot develops, each character gets their turn in the spotlight that focuses on their motivations and desires. It’s an uncommon structural choice but it works exceptionally well in creating empathy on all sides – a necessity considering the thematic heft of the material, dealing with ideas of faith, love, art, and entitlement in a mature and thoughtful way.

Brenton’s adaptation, based on a translation from Agnes Broomé, crackles with dramatic electricity, that conveys the central questions of the play in smart ways while also facilitating emotionally charged character-driven moments. This is helped in no small part by Tom Littler’s direction and Louie Whitemore’s design, which confidently allow a lot of stillness from the actors to let the script speak for itself, and sets a stellar balance of delivering laughs while also consistently ramping up the tension. The performances, too, are utterly magnetic as the chemistry between all three of the actors is totally delectable. Sheldon and Myer-Bennett in particular share a scene that is oozing with nuance and subtext as the pair play secret agendas against each other, and the dynamic between the two was grippingly unpredictable.

Creditors is not a flawless play – the first third lacks the same creativity and cleverness of the other two, and certain plot points are somewhat predictable, but by and large, the team behind this adaptation have crafted a nigh-on irrefutable argument for Strindberg’s work to remain at the forefront of the pantheon of writers that pioneered drama as we know it today. The play is running on alternating nights with Miss Julie, featuring the same cast and creatives, and I for one cannot wait to return to the Jermyn Street Theatre tomorrow and continue falling in love with this prolific writer’s oft-neglected oeuvre.

 

Reviewed by Tom Francis

Photography by Robert Day

 


Creditors

Jermyn Street Theatre until 1st June

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
The Dog Beneath the Skin | ★★★ | March 2018
Tonight at 8.30 | ★★★★★ | April 2018
Tomorrow at Noon | ★★★★ | May 2018
Stitchers | ★★★½ | June 2018
The Play About my Dad | ★★★★ | June 2018
Hymn to Love | ★★★ | July 2018
Burke & Hare | ★★★★ | November 2018
Original Death Rabbit | ★★★★★ | January 2019
Agnes Colander: An Attempt At Life | ★★★★ | February 2019
Mary’s Babies | ★★★ | March 2019

 

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Review of Pravda – 3 Stars

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Pravda

Pravda

Bridewell Theatre

Reviewed – 7th November 2017

★★★

“Sections of dialogue that should be snappy, drag instead, making many witty lines fall flat”

 

Howard Brenton and David Hare’s satire of 1980s newspapers is performed too rarely. After winning several awards at its premiere in 1985, it was not revived until 2006. The writing is sharp and funny, and the passing of time has rendered its jokes about the press even more relevant. The script is the real star in this performance, which is otherwise rather a mixed bag.

The play is centred around Lambert La Roux, a South African businessman and thinly veiled caricature of Rupert Murdoch. Alongside him is Andrew May, a young journalist he promotes at first to editor of a local paper, and then a national broadsheet. La Roux’s amoral profiteering and manipulation prove a struggle for Andrew’s ethics, and the bleak emotional heart of the second half of the play focuses on the loss of both his self-respect and his relationships with those closest to him.

La Roux is played with great success by Max Fisher. His South African accent is occasionally implausible but he inhabits the role fully, from the shambling gait he adopts to La Roux’s air of certainty that he is always the most important person in the room. He is constantly on the verge of over-acting, but with a character like this that doesn’t feel like such a drawback. Oliver Ferriman makes an endearingly earnest Andrew May, giving a performance that seems a little shallow, but that makes Andrew easy to empathise with. The other roles are for the most part inoffensive but unremarkable. David Hankinson stands out as the corrupt MP Michael Quince, but some minor parts are played very poorly.

The performance’s biggest stumbling point is the pacing. Sections of dialogue that should be snappy, drag instead, making many witty lines fall flat. Otherwise, director Louise Bakker has done an admirable job creating this production on a less than ideal stage – it is simply a space surrounded by black curtains, the effect spoiled by the gallery running round the top. The minimal sets (desks, chairs, and so on for the most part) work well, though a little more evocation of atmosphere would be welcome. On balance, this is a moderately successful production of a wonderful play. It’s worth seeing for the rarity at the very least.

 

Reviewed by Juliet Evans

Photography by Ruth Anthony

 

St Bride Foundation [logo]

 

PRAVDA

is at the Bridewell Theatre until 11th November

 

 

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