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Author
Luigi Pirandello
Adaptation
Hugh Whitemore
Director
Jonathan
Kent
Producer
Duncan C
Weldon
Paul Elliott
Designer
Paul Brown
Cast
includes
Kristin Scott
Thomas
Margaret Tyzack
Bob Hoskins
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Playhouse
Theatre
27
Oct 2005 - 22 Jan 2006 |
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Who is
L'Ignota ("the unknown
woman")? Is she Elma,
the sultry Berlin cabaret
singer whom we meet at the
play's start, who is living
with the wealthy, domineering
and much older Carl Salter?
Or is she Lucia, wife of the
rich Italian Bruno Pieri,
who had not seen her since
she was the victim of an horrendous
sexual assault by marauding
soldiers at the end of the
Great War? Or does her identity
simply change with each desirous
gaze cast upon her?
L'Ignota is the object of
so many desires that who she
"really" is remains
unknown. The young men at
the Berlin cabaret desire
a sexually provocative "party
girl." Salter desires
a new, younger wife, one who
is the object of others' desires.
Salter's daughter Mop desires
a lesbian lover. Bruno Pieri
wants to believe that his
long lost wife is still alive,
a fact which also has the
convenient consequence that
he will retain the family
estate in Italy. Lucia's sister
Ines, who stands to inherit
the estate once Lucia's death
is certified, has rather different
wishes. Lucia's aunt and surrogate
mother, Lena, wants her long-lost
"daughter" to be
restored to her. Lucia's uncle,
Salesio, lets slip the first
doubts about L'Ignota's claim
to be Lucia, perhaps because
his place on the family estate
is at risk if Lucia returns.
L'Ignota dominates the script,
and Kristin Scott Thomas's
mesmerizing portrayal dominates
the stage. Though the desires
and wishes of others are aimed
at remaking her, L'Ignota
alternates between compliant
fulfillment of their wishes
and cruel mockery and taunting
of their desires. She brings
to light inconvenient and
unsettling facts, revealing
for instance that while she
and Bruno make love, Bruno's
hands are searching for Lucia's
distinctive birth mark on
L'Ignota's thigh - thus betraying
Bruno's own uncertainty about
who L'Ignota really is. Ms.
Thomas carries off these dual
modes of L'Ignota's interactions
brilliantly and sympathetically,
so that even L'Ignota's cruel
revelations inspire the audience's
pity for this woman whose
whole sense of self is hostage
to everyone else's desires.
The unfolding cascade of conflicting
desires, ulterior motives
and inconvenient facts create
a suspense that holds the
audience rapt throughout the
ninety-minute drama. (Do note
that there is no intermission
for this performance.) Although
Ms. Thomas carries the show,
she is ably supported by Bob
Hoskins's suitably unpleasant
and vindictive Salter. Splendid
performances are also given
by John Carlisle and Margaret
Tyzack as the deliciously
quarrelsome old aunt and uncle,
Lena and Salesio. The rest
of the cast deliver fine performances,
with two unfortunate exceptions:
Richard Lintern's Bruno is
wooden and unconvincing, and
Finbar Lynch's portrayal of
Bruno's friend and confidante
Boffi, who first "unmasks"
Elma as Lucia, feels oddly
awkward and out of place.
Those weak links in the cast
do not, happily, detract significantly
from the overall excellence
of this production.
Brian
Leiter |
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