| A fascinating production, excellently staged |
At National Theatre Wales |
| National Theatre Wales/Volcano Theatre/Welsh National Opera- Shelf Life , The Old Library, Swansea , April 9, 2010 |
A very fascinating production, excellently staged in exactly the right venue. I am not a great fan of taking work out of the theatre but this direct and elegantly written play sat perfectly within the faded beauty of Swansea’s former great library. The emptiness of the library, long cleared of its books, a mountain of them lay discarded in the yard outside, may now be symbolising the approaching demise of the book as words on paper as the electronic era threatens to take over.We start in the yard that lies between the old library and the new police station. In her colourful square booth we are met by a lively librarian, with her rouged face and multi coloured costume she seems the clown of the piece – we meet her sweet nature later knocking up scrambled eggs deep in the library cellar and endearing us to her. It is interesting that both the female roles have been giving to dancers. Initially the character is not quite vocally successful but wins us over with her eccentric charm. She disappears and a chorus marches into the yard, the singing is deep and melodious, some of them are masked and some time they sing in praise of books. The chorus is followed by a large bearded gentleman in a kind of bardic robe pulling in a make-shift cart, on it a portrait of William Gladstone who, as Prime Minister opened the library in 1887 and now presides over the proceedings with a bemused eye. He welcomes us a bit too forcefully and the choir continues its warming music. While they sing we see a single dancer hanging from an adjacent roof very skilfully executing fine dance movement against the side of the building. The first of many moments of magic that brush us as we move through the experience. Books we are told are a cure for everything and we are invited to volunteer our illnesses for which the bardic welcomer and a more casually dressed assistant quickly produce prescriptions for the books they suggest will cure our ills. The programme does not identify the individual roles of the actors and no writer is credited with the production of this well written and informative script. D J Britton is credited as dramaturge and in that role he has clearly done an excellent job. We now move down into the old library cellar, the stacks. The shelves are long empty but there is a living smell to the wood and as we stroll through the small labyrinth there are small artefacts placed to catch our eye and in the darkness the casually dressed actor enthrals with his quiet verse speaking. We climb the steps again into the glorious library reading room, a miniature British Museum. The place is a joy to be in, in the centre a small banquet is laid out, we are offered grapes and cheese. By now the carefully assembled cast, Nigel Barrett, Gerald Bell, Anna Bjerre Larsen, Lindsey Butcher, Theo Clinkard and Jane Guernier had become our friends. They assemble around the table. They reflect, philosophise, argue, and roar. Kiss and discuss, two of them remove their clothes. There is no coherent continuous narrative but we remain captivated by each vignette of dialogue and the charm and commitment of the players. Then darkness falls and almost with a little reluctance we have to get up and leave. Whilst there was in me a small germ of a lack of complete satisfaction, it was a journey I was very glad to have made. The NTW artistic director John E McGrath clearly believes in living dangerously, he has started the first glow in his lantern of inspiration. I look forward to its eventual gleaming. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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