Tag Archives: Samuel Beckett

Footfalls and Play
★★★★★

Jack Studio Theatre

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Footfalls and Play

Footfalls and Play

Jack Studio Theatre

Reviewed – 28th February 2019

★★★★★

 

“Beckett pares his later works to the extreme, wasting no words and here we are compelled to hang on to his every one”

 

Samuel Beckett is often misconstrued as writing inaccessible, absurd theatre with unconventional structures, intangible plots and bleak, sordid characters. Contrary to this, his ability to discard the trappings and complications which make up much of our literature and lay bare the most essential aspects of the human condition is both comic and cathartic. Angel Theatre Company offers two of his short, later plays, ‘Footfalls’ and ‘Play’, both of which are perfect examples of Beckett’s most musical orchestration of scripts, full of technical precision and producing dramatic aural imagery.

In ‘Play’ the scene is set to a background of chattering. Three large urns hold the visible heads of Man, Woman 1 (his wife) and Woman 2 (his mistress); the agelessness, indicated by Beckett, suggest souls in purgatory. Written separately and later interspersed, the three tell their story in short, often fragmented sentences and pauses at a rapid speed while lit by a spotlight which moves directly from one to another. Stage directions specify tempo, tone and volume, even a ‘da capo’ and brief coda. Sometimes appearing as victims of the light, each reacts differently to the sense of interrogation. Rose Trustman as Woman 1, shows the strong, fighting spirit of the wife but doesn’t know how to satisfy the light, telling it to ‘get off her’. Samantha Kamras portrays Woman 2 with a calm confidence, increasingly losing her poise when the light is on her and asking if she is not becoming ‘unhinged’. Ricky Zalman neatly defines the witty quality of Man’s wandering imagination as he speaks. Although the initial soundtrack and face makeup is significantly similar to Minghella’s 2001 film, John Patterson directs with immaculate precision and we are immediately caught up in the intrigue of this love triangle, devoid of stereotypical melodrama and romanticised fiction.

The muted yet detailed noises in ‘Footfalls’ – the bell punctuating the four parts, the pacing of May and the sound of speech – paint a softly poignant and personal picture but the play also brushes the wider question of existence. May, dressed in a dishevelled nightdress, is trapped in a moment in time, which she replays repeatedly as she paces slowly up and down, endlessly revolving something in her mind. She converses with her mother, normally an off-stage voice but in this case played by Pearl Marsland as a haunting, maternal face in the doorway, watching her daughter. In a deeply moving performance from Anna Bonnett, we feel May’s isolation and suffering in her tormented thoughts, her mind gradually fading with her presence on stage. In the two plays, Oliver Fretz’s lighting is impeccable in mood and movement.

The company conveys a rapport which absorbs us into the worlds of these relationships, linked by their raw nature but different in mood and manner. Beckett pares his later works to the extreme, wasting no words and here we are compelled to hang on to his every one.

 

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington

Photography by Angel Theatre Company

 


Footfalls and Play

Jack Studio Theatre until 9th March

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Back to Where | ★★★★ | July 2018
The White Rose | ★★★★ | July 2018
Hobson’s Choice | ★★★★ | September 2018
Dracula | ★★★½ | October 2018
Radiant Vermin | ★★★★ | November 2018
Sweet Like Chocolate Boy | ★★★★★ | November 2018
Cinderella | ★★★ | December 2018
Gentleman Jack | ★★★★ | January 2019
Taro | ★★★½ | January 2019
As A Man Grows Younger | ★★★ | February 2019

 

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How it is (Part One) – 2.5 Stars

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Beckett

How it is (Part One)

Print Room at the Coronet

Reviewed – 4th May 2018

★★½

“At points it just feels as if the performers are reciting passages from the novel”

 

Gare St Lazare’s adaptation of Samual Beckett’s novel ‘How It Is’ at the Print Room at the Coronet is an intricate and interesting reimagining of the complicated and dense prose. To turn Beckett’s work, perhaps one of his most challenging texts, into performance is a mammoth task and director Judy Hegarty Lovett has a clear understanding of the ways in which to manipulate the performance space into one which can inhabit the intricacies of How It Is.

The story follows that of a man lying in the mud, repeating small moments of his life as he hears them, told to him by some other, mysterious voice. There is no real perception of time, place, or even person within the performance. The man is characterised through three actors: Conor Lovett, Stephen Dillane and Mel Mercier, and each is faultless in their performance. Lasting almost two hours, the performance consists almost entirely of spoken text, often with repeats and in an extremely minimalist writing style. As an audience member, there is an extreme level of concentration required in order to keep up with exactly what is going on through the veil of the ambiguous script. One can only marvel at the incredible stamina and sheer ability of each of the actors in maintaining an incredibly sleek performance with such a dense script.

The staging was especially interesting, with the audience sat on the stage and the performance happening over the two levels of audience seating and on the floor. The lighting, designed by Simon Bennison, was often dim but worked incredibly well with the concept of having the performance in the audience seating. The sound, composed by actor Mel Mercier, was also extremely atmospheric and really added to the performance.

All of the separate elements of this performance were outstanding, however when brought together they unfortunately lack the narrative and drama needed in theatre. At points it just feels as if the performers are reciting passages from the novel, standing or sitting still, with no real purpose. There are long passages in which actors speak over the top of each other, and whilst this is atmospheric at first, it loses traction when used repeatedly for five-minute intervals throughout the entire performance.

With no real visual stimulus to go on, the performance relies on the concentration and quick understanding of the audience to keep them engaged. All of the elements are there, but the adaptation for the stage is where the performance really lacks, often relying solely on the words of Beckett rather than using his language as a basis for a real, interesting performance which makes full use of the live and visual modes of theatre.

 

Reviewed by Charlotte Cox

Photography by Tristram Kenton

 


How it is (Part One)

Print Room at the Coronet until 19th May

 

 

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