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Galleon Theatre Company presents
Aristides – The Outcast Hero Written and produced by Alice de Sousa Directed by Bruce Jamieson
Greenwich Playhouse
27 January – 22 February 2009
A review by Colette Gunn-Graffy for EXTRA! EXTRA!
You cannot sit through Alice de Sousa’s production of Aristides – The Outcast Hero and come away disagreeing with its title. For his actions during the Second World War, Aristides de Sousa Mendes was certainly a hero, despite the fact that he ended his life in poverty and obscurity. Less clear, however, is why (Alice) De Sousa chose to present this work on stage, for although the format of Aristides may be theatrical, the script is hardly dramatic. It is shame, because the story of Aristides is both compelling and relatively unknown. Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a Portuguese Catholic, aristocrat and diplomat, notable, among other things for his large family (14 children) and his generosity to the destitute. In 1940, whilst serving as the Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux, France, Aristides defied his own government to issue visas to over 30,000 people – Jews and others – whose lives were threatened by the advancing German army. As a neutral state, Portugal offered not only a haven for refugees, but a doorway from which they could pass into the free world. For his disobedience, upon return to Portugal, Aristides was stripped of his status and position, denied recognition and died penniless at the age of sixty-nine. Aristides – The Outcast Hero opens with a scene between a remorseful young woman and a barman in a restaurant. It turns out this woman is one of the many refugees aided by Aristides during the war. Having just learned of the former Consul’s death, she laments that she never thanked him appropriately, and, in trying to explain to the barman exactly who Aristides was, slips smoothly into the role of narrator for the audience. For the rest of the play, the action shifts between the narrator and short scenes focusing on the individual events surrounding the Consul’s heroic act: from his initial arrival in Bordeaux to his first meeting with the Rabbi Chaim Kruger (a figure instrumental in compelling Aristides to defy his government’s orders) to the final frantic issuing of the visas, and ultimately to his unsuccessful defence and final demise. Yet, while the play’s epic scope is admirable, the audience is left with a surprisingly limited understanding of the man behind it all. In the role of Aristides, Michael Hucks is perfectly convincing as a good-natured but busy bureaucrat, but as the play’s scenes seem more geared toward illustrating rather than developing his character, he remains fairly one-note throughout. For instance, before going against his government’s orders, Aristides reportedly underwent a crisis of conscience that lasted three days and three nights. In De Sousa’s production, this information is delivered to us via the other members of Aristides’ household whilst he is offstage. Rather than letting us into Aristides’ tortured and confused thoughts – which would be testament to his character – De Sousa reveals only that his agonising dilemma has left him ill and points to the fact that Aristides’s hair has gone completely white as evidence of the enormous stress of his ordeal. Similarly, although the audience is given the superficial details of Aristides’ extramarital affair with the French singer Andrée – how they first met, how she followed him to Portugal and had his child, how they were married after the death of his wife – we are never granted access to the emotional heart of the relationship. Thus, we never understand one of the most humanising of Aristides’ character flaws: why and how such an honourable, Catholic man could betray the wife he loved. Clearly, a lot of research has gone into the making of this production. In addition to playwright and producer, De Sousa has also had to wear the hat of Aristides’ biographer, a man for whom she seems to have great admiration and respect. Yet, in aspiring to document the truth of his achievements (for which the Portuguese government under Salazar later took credit), she has held off making any sort of judgment on his character, rendering to the audience instead the sort of two-dimensional portrait often found in history books. Indeed, what this production feels like – particularly given its cinematic soundtrack – is a filmed documentary being re-enacted on stage. Unfortunately, whilst Aristides’ achievements deserve recognition, as a play, Aristides – The Outcast Hero is simply too flat to merit a recommendation.
Tuesday – Saturday @ 7:30 pm, Sunday @ 4 pm Tickets £12 / £10 concessions Box Office: 020 8858 9256; www.galleontheatre.co.uk Venue: Greenwich Playhouse, 189 Greenwich High Road, London SE10 8JA
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y Couzen