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Author
Maria Goos
Directed by
Kevin Spacey
Designed by
Roberrt Jones
Performers
Jan
Hugh Bonneville
Pieter
Stephen
Tompkinson
Maarten
Neil Pearson
Tom
Adrian Lukis
Woman
Ingeborga
Dapkunaite
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The Old Vic
16
September - 11 December 2004 |
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In its
native Netherlands this play
was greeted with critical
plaudits for its insights
into the middle-aged male
condition, and its representation
of the collapse of a circle
of friendship reaching a sell-by
date that none of the four
parties to it believed it
possessed. It is a comedy
that ends in tragedy - the
tragedy being the suicide
of the most interesting and
vulnerable member of the group
- and it is intended as an
exploration of the difficult
balance that subsists between
private loyalty and individual
self-interest when it is most
sharply thrown into relief
by the exigencies of public
morality.
Alas, the machinery of the
play is just a little too
cumbersome, and the reach
of the playwright just a little
too over-extended, for these
worthy aspirations to be met.
With a cast like this it would
be hard not to generate a
good evening of theatre; there
is a superabundance of talent
here, and by sheer force of
acting the four male principals
manage to make their cardboard
cut-out characters seem a
little more than paper - at
least while they are actually
there on stage. But as the
audience walks from the theatre
and thinks back, so the characters
subside into two dimensions,
and the story liquefies into
sentimentality.
There are, however, moments
that are far better than the
play as a whole, and these
I think must be what captured
the attention of audiences
in its native tongue, and
no doubt struck Kevin Spacey
as he thought about what to
stage as his London directorial
debut. The choice he had to
make was by no means an insignificant
one, but the fact that it
has not been an unqualified
success should not be a problem:
there are indications in 'Cloaca'
of a determination to fashion
theatre that is imaginative,
brave and novel without being
posturing and innovative merely
for effect. There will be
no straining after paradoxes
in Spacey's cultured view
of the theatrical space and
its possibilities, one senses:
and that must be a good thing.
The Old Vic has seen spectacular
genius at work on its boards
- the last time was when Jonathan
Miller was artistic director
in the 1980s, for an all-too-short
period of brilliance - but
instead of that being a paralysing
thought, it should be a potentiating
one: Spacey has the ability,
as his handling of this ambiguously
crafted play indicates, to
make something special happen
in the purlieus of Waterloo.
But this was not quite it
yet. 'Addo dum minuo' says
the Latin tag - I add by taking
away - and Maria Goos might
shorten this play to good
effect, tightening the psychological
development, not indulging
herself in side stories too
far, unless they bear strictly
upon (rather than contradicting,
as happens here) the meaning
of the main narrative.
Not an iota of these reservations
should attach to members of
the cast, who were splendid,
nor the design, which was
excellent, nor the strip-tease
of Miss Dapkunaite, which
was convincingly done and
therefore enjoyable. In one
way it is perhaps a good thing
that Kevin Spacey did not
begin with a huge and unqualified
success, because the inevitable
consequence would have been
that anything which did not
meet the same standard would
have generated headlines saying
'Spacey falls off' and the
like. Now he has a chance
to build; and London's audiences
- far more appreciative and
generous than its press -
will be happy to see him succeed.
AC Grayling |
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