At Volcano Theatre |
| Volcano Theatre- Private Lives , Thear Brycheiniog (Brecon) , April 26, 2001 |
| Chaotic madness. Madness in both the metaphorical and literal sense, - exactly what you would not expect from a Noel Coward play! The stamp of Volcano was imprinted on this production even before entering the theatre as Elyot and Sybil (Paul Davies and Laura Rees) were practically ripping each others clothes off in the lobby (much to certain members of the audience's disgust!). It is critical that one examines the historical context of this piece before trying to fully understand what Coward was (or Volcano are,) trying to convey - bearing in mind that this was the social class to which he aspired to. At the time that Coward wrote the play, Britain was suffering from the post World War I recession and the upper classes were slowly becoming non-existent. Coward created this illusion it seems, as a fantasy to help him forget his own lower middle-class situation, and of course the larger social picture of economic depression. The characters are said to be loosely based on himself and Gertrude Lawrence. The play was popular and extremely relevant at the time, but as with most influential pieces of culture, they become dated and need some kind of contemporary edge to make them as relevant to a twenty-first century audience. So with Gill Lyon's exciting direction, Volcano have produced a completely alternative interpretation, that explores the deeper issues embedded in the play. "I think very few people are normal really deep down in their private lives" - possibly the most famous line from the play, and what seems to be the overall theme of Volcano's production. From the onset, the characters are slightly erratic and egocentric. This gives the performance tremendous energy and pace and compels us to become involved in these characters involvement with this ridiculous situation. Rather than find the humour in the text, Volcano have uncovered the real humour to be within the meaninglessness of these characters lives. As the play progresses, the plot is practically non-existent and the dialogue has little or no relevance to the message that is being conveyed. By the end, the ambiguous setting seems to have become reduced to a psychiatric hospital. With Elyot and Victor (Eric Maclennan) fighting in their underpants with chairs on their heads to Led Zepplin and Amanda (Fern Smith) rolling herself up in the carpet, the message becomes crystal clear. We are none of us totally sane in our private lives (though some are more insane than others are as these deranged characters have demonstrated!). Especially during the first half of the play I felt particularly uncomfortable as I felt that maybe I was missing the point somehow. I wanted to know where these characters were, why their dialogue often contradicted the action, and why sometimes the couples could see and interact with each other yet at other times, even when one character was sat on another they were not aware of each other's presence. However there then came a point when I realised that I had been trying to understand all of the wrong things. Volcano has pushed the boundaries of theatricality to convey a much more relevant and interesting theme. The set was not important, not even the plot if these characters are inmates at a mental hospital, the central theme was that their lives held little significance within the larger context. The acting was of the usual standard that is to be expected with Volcano and the youngest and newest member of the company, Laura Rees had the audience mesmerized with a beautifully timed tap-dance. Volcano is renowned for its' energetic approach to theatre and this piece is by no means an exception. They have chosen to include lots of music, during which there is no dialogue, only acutely athletic physical action, again reinforcing the truly chaotic nature of their private lives. |
Reviewed by: Victoria Cooper |
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