Tag Archives: Rosie Thomas

THE BOOK OF GRACE

★★★★★

Arcola Theatre

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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

THE BOOK OF GRACE

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

 

MASTERCLASS

★★★★

Southbank Centre

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MASTERCLASS at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre

★★★★

“Rachel Bergin’s creative production packs a well-staged punch aimed squarely at the patriarchy”

You will recognise the stage set up from any “A Conversation With…” events you have attended in the neighbouring Royal Festival Hall. Two opposing casual chairs either side of a coffee table, prominent copies of a ‘great work’, and a historically accurate cognac bottle: Ellen Kirk as set designer gets the tone just right.

However, the sincerity lasts for mere seconds before Feidlim Cannon and Adrienne Truscott start unravelling the form with silliness, physical comedy and rat-a-tat dialogue. Over the course of an hour they unpick the work of many of the greats stubbornly taking space in the literary and theatrical canon.

Feidlim Cannon plays the interviewer, entering the stage to smooth jazz (Jennifer O’Malley on sound design), ready to cosily interrogate a great man and his body of work. A moustachioed and body suited Adrienne Truscott is introduced as a writer, director and costume designer whose work allegedly surfaces themes of truth, gender and power, but as unrehearsed readings of one of his scenes demonstrate, are more often channels for misogyny and violence against women.

 

 

Quickly, the artifice is revealed, with Cannon’s seventies wig falling off during farcical movement sequences (well designed by Eddie Kay, movement director). This escalates throughout the piece as lines between the characters and the artists playing them are increasingly blurred; they appear to break scene to demand self-examination of themselves. In places the threads of the devising are still visible, though they are mostly welcomed (I am a sucker for a juxtaposed dance sequence). Costumes are shed nearly all the way; which as we are reminded is Truscott’s calling card from previous shows, and extensively examined.

There are some great one liners in the first half of the script from writers Cannon and Truscott, along with Gary Keegan of Irish theatre company Brokentalkers, which jab at well-known theatrical productions that have frankly audacious premises. The exploration of why genius and passion never seems to express itself in calm and considered behaviour when violence is available was another point persuasively demonstrated.

Then as the fourth wall fully breaks, we move into a fairly explicit lecture on feminism, allyship and taking up space. It feels like most of the flair disappears for too long before the ambiguous ending restores the playfulness that has underpinned the majority of the piece. I felt like the stripped back truth-telling felt a bit too much like a classroom and the commentary slightly too surface level to justify the lack of theatricality.

Despite this, the vast majority of Masterclass is creative, gnarly, and cathartic for many a practitioner. Rachel Bergin’s creative production packs a well-staged punch aimed squarely at the patriarchy.


MASTERCLASS at the Southbank Centre

Reviewed on 9th May 2024

by Rosie Thomas

Photography by Ste Murray

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

FROM ENGLAND WITH LOVE | ★★★½ | April 2024
REUBEN KAYE: THE BUTCH IS BACK | ★★★★ | December 2023
THE PARADIS FILES | ★★★★ | April 2022

MASTERCLASS

MASTERCLASS

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page