Tag Archives: Jack Weir

Blood Wedding – 3 Stars

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Wedding

Blood Wedding

Omnibus Theatre

Reviewed – 7th September 2018

★★★

“in modernising the poetic writing, the atmosphere of reality in the first half leaves us unprepared for the expressionism of the second”

 

The first of Federico Garcia Lorca’s famous trilogy of tragedies expressing extreme elemental passions and the powerful Spanish theme of honour, ‘Blood Wedding’ is a poetic drama set in rural Andalucia. Influenced strongly by the past – medieval ballads, traditional songs and early metrical structure – he also incorporates modern and surrealist ideas, shocking in his day. Director, George Richmond-Scott, updates the story to present day London, leaving the verse dialogue behind and omitting characters, in particular the wedding entourage, which have a somewhat Greek chorus effect in the original. However, in relocating both in time and place, we lose the essence of close-knit family feuds, social pressures and the submissive position of women, which undermine the burning sense of calamity and resignation. And in modernising the poetic writing, the atmosphere of reality in the first half leaves us unprepared for the expressionism of the second.

The cast complement each other in style, creating moments of humour, music and movement but it is Maria de Lima as the Mother who is the underlying strength of the play, carrying her pain throughout as a reminder of humanity’s tragic impotence. The smouldering sentiments of Leo (Ash Rizi) are quietly but intensely present and the Wife’s sad fate is beautifully portrayed by Miztli Rose Neville. The Son and the Bride (Federico Trujillo and Racheal Ofori) each have their poignant moment – the opening scene showing the touching connection between Mother and Son, and the Bride’s moving declaration to Leo in the third act, but the weight of their doomed relationship fails to come across. Camilla Mathias’ musical interludes fit invitingly into the narrative as does her cameo role as the Neighbour, and Yorgos Karamalegos personifies the Moon with expressive movement, strangely out of place in this real-world concept.

While Christianna Mason’s set design fills the unadorned stage with doorways, platforms and steps to create a feeling of urban space, Richmond-Scott’s artful direction uses the whole theatre, cleverly involving the audience in the action. Lorca’s stage directions are very precise and he gives clear instructions for music, sound and colour. The lighting (Jack Weir) gives dramatic context to the bareness of the surroundings and the sound by Daniel Balfour is perfectly coordinated with the action, adding extra dimension to the scenes.

It is an innovative idea to remodel such a profoundly traditional piece of theatre. It has a relatable script, genuinely tortuous emotions, immersive involvement and abstract interaction but it is an uneven production in the general structure and on an emotional level.

 

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington

Photography by Nick Arthur Daniel

 

Omnibus Theatre

Blood Wedding

Omnibus Theatre until 23rd September

 

 

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F*cking Men – 3 Stars

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Men

F*cking Men

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 19th May 2018

★★★

“Their lack of comfort in certain roles is clear and some dubious accents don’t help”

 

Ten men weave through each other’s lives – married couples, sauna hookups, monogamists and non-monogamists, sex workers and Grindr meetups – all played by three multi-rolling actors. The interactions cross-sect society – a soldier who insists he isn’t gay and an escort, a bisexual student and his tutor, a porn star and his married lover. Based on Arthur Schnitzler’s at the time scandalous play ‘La Ronde’, Joe DiPietro sets this narrative of sexual encounters in the modern day New York gay scene. ‘F*cking Men’ is an insight into a world of casual sex, financial exchanges and relationships, as its inhabitants search for connection and intimacy.

Bleak for some and hopeful for others this is not a celebration nor a condemnation of this scene. Instead DiPietro seeks to genuinely represent multiple facets of the gay scene and the people who function within it. He succeeds to some extent. Many of the interactions are all too recognisable, but others do fall into the category of stereotype. Whilst ‘La Ronde’ specifically aimed to depict characters across the different levels of society, in the context of this adaptation, DiPietro’s film star character seems out of place and starts a transcension into celebrity that leaves the everyday experience of the gay scene behind.

Richard De Lisle, a member of the original cast and now a current cast member and Associate Director of the production, delivers the standout performance of the evening. He infects each of his characters with believability and is consistently strong as he morphs from role to role. August Ohlsson and Liam Darby are less concrete – both have their stronger characters but unfortunately this means they also have their weaker characters. Their lack of comfort in certain roles is clear and some dubious accents don’t help when creating convincing and rounded characters.

The set consists of wooden boxes that are rearranged and repurposed from scene to scene and out of which emerge costume changes and set dressing. Jack Weir’s lighting design plays a large part in transforming the space and pays close attention to detail, flooding the stage with blue when a television is turned on, for example.

This is a snapshot of a varied and often misrepresented scene, of people searching for moments of connection in a scene often characterised by fleeting hookups, secrecy and non-monogamy, and it is well supported by the strength of De Lisle’s performance and characteristics.

 

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography courtesy of show

 


F*cking Men

King’s Head Theatre until 2nd June

 

 

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