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Bird & Be Productions presents The Tin Horizon
Nick Malinowski (Vladimir)
by Orlando Wells Directed by Phoebe Barran Theatre 503 15 April – 9 May 2009
A review by Colette Gunn-Graffy for EXTRA! EXTRA!
There’s something wonderfully claustrophobic and intriguing about sitting in a small, dark room, waiting for a play to go on, and staring at a dim stage littered with taxidermied rodents. The actors have not yet appeared, not a single word of Orlando Wells’ brilliantly imaginative script has been uttered, and already we are faced with images of death and paralysis. This eerie setting of The Tin Horizon also says quite a bit about Vladimir, the play’s central character. In a war-torn, dystopian world in which the lowest, most downtrodden members of society (referred to as ‘Undesirables’) are hunted down and exterminated by a sinister, totalitarian government known only as ‘The Corporation’, Vladimir, once a government scientist involved in eugenics, now makes a living preserving vermin. That he is aided by a somewhat damaged but endearing boy called ‘Vermin’ is to drive the point home still further. Outside the taxidermist shop, bombs are falling as the Corporation battles the revolutionary Insurgency; inside, Vladimir is left to his peaceful pursuits – until that is, his past comes back to haunt him. It turns out our protagonist’s former girlfriend Meteora is a member of the Insurgency, and she needs his help with an assassination attempt. The Corporation, however, is onto her, leaving Vladimir caught in the middle. One of the most interesting things about The Tin Horizon is the way in which it unfolds: as a linear narrative broken up by a series of flashbacks. While this is sometimes difficult to follow, on the whole it works quite well. Wells is a master at keeping the audience in the dark about certain circumstances and relationships and then suddenly springing the truth upon us in short punchy scenes. Slowly our understanding grows; not only of the horrors of this world but also of what has been lost between Vladimir and Meteora. Admittedly, some of the more ‘sci-fi’ elements of the play are a bit grating. The characters’ use of ‘thou’ and ‘thee’ instead of ‘you’, for example, feels forced and contributes little to the dystopian setting. In addition, the frequent explanations of relationships between the Corporation and the Insurgency – although necessary for the audience’s understanding – tend to remove us from the story. Indeed, when presented with Anna Bliss-Scully’s bleak set design and Matt Drury’s stark lighting, such linguistic attempts to create a futuristic world feel superfluous. Wells’ script also benefits from a tremendous cast of actors. Nick Malinowksi is excellent as Vladimir, a man torn between head and heart, while Tanya Franks as Meteora exudes strength and an iron conviction. As the suave head of the Corporation, Lucien, Laurence Kennedy is the calm and methodical face of evil, while Gary Shelford as Walt, a crackpot insurgent, makes the most of his hilariously schizophrenic lines. It is Thomas Morrison, however, as the slow-witted but lovable cripple Vermin who steals the show. In the midst of darkness and war, Vermin’s naïve dream to take to the stage is so hopeless as to be laughable, and yet Morrison plays the boy with such disingenuous eagerness, we cannot help but root for him, in vain as it may be. At its heart, Wells’ play is a condemnation of complacency and conformity; it is also highly entertaining. The only disappointment is the fact that, for a play billed as a ‘dark comedy’, some of its more subtle humour seemed to get lost in the delivery – perhaps because the serious side of this ‘invented world’ hits so close to home as to be overwhelming. Still, there are some comic gems in this script that deserve more recognition. Wells is a playwright not only of substance but of tremendous imagination, and certainly one to watch.
Tanya Franks (Meteora) and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Saul)
Tues - Sat @ 7:45pm, Sun @ 5:00pm, Matinee Sat 2nd May @ 3pm Tickets £13 (£8 Concessions) Box Office: 020 7978 7040 Theatre503 at The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW
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y Couzen