|
Wrecks
Bush Theatre 10 February – 28 March 2009
I
A review by Rosie Fiore for EXTRA! EXTRA!
You’re invited to see a play by Neil LaBute. What do you expect? Darkness? Perversity? Cruelty? Any or all of the above? What you don’t expect is to be ushered into a tiny space, carpeted in thick apricot pile, and dominated by a full-size coffin and the portrait of the deceased woman. As the audience, we were seated on narrow “institutional” chairs, wedged in in the round, unwilling voyeurs at the funeral of Jojo Carr, beloved wife and mother. The only mourner we meet is Jojo’s widower, Eddie, and the play is his eulogy to his deeply beloved wife. He speaks of the other “viewing” attendees who are in an adjoining room, and it’s not entirely clear if he has left them to speak to us, or indeed if the room we are in is inside his head as we hear his hour-long inner monologue. For the majority of the play, it seems we are listening to a fairly typical tribute. Eddie is a broken man, both in spirit, at the loss of his wife; and in body, as the cancer that has claimed her life will bring his own death soon enough. It is apparent from everything he says that he loved his wife with a single-minded and engaging passion for all of their thirty-year marriage. They have shared love and physical intimacy, have raised children and run a successful business restoring and renting out vintage cars. But what sets Eddie apart? Many men have loved their wives. Why are we hearing this story? And of course this is what makes it a LaBute play. There is a reason, a dark twist, a hidden thread. I shan’t even hint at it, but it’s skilfully plotted and when it is revealed, makes sense of a great deal of what has gone before, including the title of the play. It’s debatable whether you’ll find LaBute’s reasoning acceptable, or whether, you feel, like me, he’s aimed to shock rather than reveal something profound and unique about this character. It’s certainly challenging, but not necessarily totally satisfying, posing, in my opinion, a great many more questions than it answers. Robert Glenister takes on a difficult task, holding the stage alone for over an hour. He also steps into some formidable shoes, as the play has previously been performed by Ed Harris both in the US and in Ireland. Glenister does himself proud, his American accent is impeccable, and his portrayal of Eddie is layered and believable. The Bush’s Artistic Director, Josie Rourke, gives the piece pace and tempo, and the claustrophobic funeral parlour set is extremely effective. It’s extremely difficult to write about a play such as this, because in order to fully discuss it I would be forced to reveal the key plot point, thereby removing the need for anyone to see it. Let me just say you’ll leave the theatre with a furrowed brow. You’ll discuss the play at length over drinks, and possibly get quite heated thinking about it. Will you come away feeling it worked and you were challenged and surprised, or will you feel you were duped by a writer who chose to outrage rather than to inform? I can’t say. But you won’t know unless you see it. The Bush Theatre Book online at www.bushtheatre.co.uk 020 7610 4224
Copyright © EXTRA! EXTRA All rights reserved
|
zes