| Exposing the folly of fascism |
At Sgript Cymru |
| Sgript Cymru- Franco's Bastard , Chapter Arts Centre , April 18, 2002 |
| GERMAN martial music is playing and the four characters march around the stage in pseudo-military style. Sion, the devoted follower, expertly mimes playing the tuba; Ben and Serena, newcomers to Carlo's mansion, fall into step, miming playing the drum and cymbals. And Carlo leads his troop with a military stiffness, greeting the audience with Nazi salutes. It is the funniest and also a deeply disturbing moment in Dic Edwards's new play Franco's Bastard, which is loosely based on the experiences of Julian Cayo Evans, self-styled leader of the Free Wales Army. But the humour of that moment is soon to spill over into resentment and violence. Edwards has always believed that theatre should be a "forum for debate" rather than mere spectacle and this highly intellectual play focuses on recurring themes in his plays: the ability to employ a facade of words to hide real meaning and the narrowness and the contradictions within extreme nationalism. "Nazi. What is Nazi? Only a word," says Carlo. But in his world, the metaphors of nationalism mean everything because they mask the emptiness, the bigotry and the vi-The play treats this serious subject with much deft humour. James Coombes as Carlo manages superbly to convey Carlo's eloquent romantic charisma as well as his more savage side. Shane Attwooll is a brilliant Sion, Carlo's essentially inarticulate follower who speaks in borrowed phrases and hints at the violence beneath the veneer of the fascist pose. The incomers Ben and Serena - both excellent performances by Adam Randall and Karin Diamond -are streetwise Cardiff kids completely out of their depth in Carlo's world. The only danger of Edwards's new play is its reliance on language and argument which does not leave much room for the actors' or the audience's interpretation. |
Reviewed by: Alyce von Rothkirch |
This review has been read 3091 times There are 70 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
