“Blell is an extremely talented actor and made this somewhat confusing farce, a bit more enjoyable to watch.”
Matthew Parker’s hilarious, yet bizarre production of Thark begins with a lot of promise, but it soon becomes apparent that this is not the typical fast-paced farce, that one had hoped for. Poor accents, slow action and strange characters, were just some of the things that left me feeling rather disappointed. Set in the 1920s, Sir Hector Benbow (Mathijs Swarte) secretly intends to take his new lady friend, Cherry, (Isabella Hayward) out for dinner. However, this does not go accordingly to plan as his wife, Lady Benbow, (Charlotte Vassell) arrives home early and he, along with the help of his nephew Ronald, (Robin Blell) are left cleaning up the mess that Hector so foolishly has got himself into.
Just a few minutes into the show, Mathijs Swarte’s accent was very frustrating, as he would flitter between a very southern American accent, to a posh English accent. Robin Blell was by far the star of the show, as his accent was very impressive and he delivered an incredible performance that had great energy, and great charisma. One scene which tickled me the most, was when Ronald desperately tried to get Kitty’s (Natalia Lewis) attention, in hope that she would realise that he truly loves her and not Cherry. Having already presented a bunch of flowers to her and pretended to be choking on a phone wire, Kitty still refuses to listen to Ronald. Interestingly, what made this scene so laugh out loud funny, was Blell’s hilarious one-liners and great timing. Blell is an extremely talented actor and made this somewhat confusing farce, a bit more enjoyable to watch.
Soon after this, several of the characters suddenly began to do a rather random 1920s Charleston dance. Despite the dance being actually very good, it was very confusing and didn’t help move the narrative forward. To make things even more confusing, Act Two focused on ‘Thark,’ (the family home that is thought to be haunted), but ignored almost everything that happened in Act One. This made the whole production feel a bit disjointed as it would have been nice to have seen how the relationship developed between Hector and Lady Bowmen. The trouble is, Matthew Parker’s production was engaging, but it didn’t live up to my expectations, and I often found myself questioning a lot more as opposed to laughing.
What angered me the most was the ending. It finished too soon and didn’t make sense, as there was so much more that needed to be explored. The whole point of theatre is to tell a story and most stories have a beginning, middle and an end, but perhaps the cast and crew were in a rush, as this production had a beginning, middle but no end. Thus making this piece of theatre incomplete.
Overall, Matthew Parker’s production does have the potential to be a fantastic farce, but having a confusing plot and a terrible ending, was extremely frustrating to watch.
Reviewed by Jessica Brewer
Photography by lhphotoshots
Thark
is at the Drayton Arms Theatre until 6th January 2018
“A 4 star performance of a 1970’s play with thought-provoking and controversial content”
Dennis Potter, who died in 1994, was an acclaimed playwright best known for his BBC TV serials Pennies From Heaven and The Singing Detective. In 1976 he wrote Brimstone and Treacle which gets a revival at the popular Hope Theatre, Islington.
The original television play was withdrawn shortly before transmission due it containing scenes that were deemed too offensive to be shown in the 70’s. It was eventually broadcast some 11 years later though it premiered on stage in 1977 and a film version starring Sting was released in 1982.
The question to be posed today is will it be as shocking as it was felt to be 40 years ago?
In short the answer is yes. It is without doubt a fine piece of work expertly directed by the award winning Matthew Parker but it carries a warning – there are disturbing scenes of sexual violence and extreme racism which many may find offensive.
The play is about Martin, a young man who thinks he’s the devil. He visits Mr & Mrs Bates, a couple caring for their bedridden daughter Pattie who was a victim of a road accident 2 years ago that left her brain damaged and profoundly disabled. The room is set in a suburb of North London and the play takes place over two days in September 1977.
The set designed by Rachael Ryan is simple yet it reflects perfectly the era with its brown patterned wallpaper, coffee set, crochet blanket and utility furniture. The performance is enhanced by devilish sound and flickering lights.
Mrs Bates has taken the larger share of the caring. She has dedicated the last two years to care for her daughter and has an optimistic view of her recovery and that she will return to her normal self in time. Her husband in contrast takes a more cynical view of her prognosis and seems resigned to her remaining in her current state. He refers unlovingly to her as ‘a cabbage’.
Martin cleverly makes his way into the Bates’ home claiming to know Pattie and that once had been her fiancé. Whilst there is some doubting by the Bates of his existence in their daughter’s life they accept his offer of care and the trouble soon begins. Having gained their confidence through his nicer than nice approach, left alone he rapes her. It makes for uncomfortable viewing.
The performance demanded attention throughout and the concluding scene made you leave thinking just how that ending came about. The clues to that were hidden earlier in the dialogue.
Fergus Leatham plays the role of Martin with assurance. He leaves the viewer feeling uncomfortable in his presence and his asides to the audience reinforce the feeling he is playing the role of a very unpleasant man.
Paul Clayton portrays the bullish Mr Bates well and Stephanie Beattie is superb as the downtrodden Mrs Bates. Olivia Beardsley has the difficult task of playing Pattie. She maintains a believable brain injured patient throughout the play. Her jerky and involuntary writhing movements were expertly acted.
The audience on our review night appeared to thoroughly enjoy their night at the theatre. At the end of the performance there was an enthusiastic applause which continued for some time until the cast returned for a second curtain call. It was a four star performance by a talented cast and whilst recommended it is a show for those with a strong disposition.
