Made
in Colchester at the Mercury Theatre
08.10.13
Brecht's
play,
written
in
exile
during
the
war
years,
is
intended
as
a
parable,
an
epic
theatre
exploration
of
morality
and
society.
Can
we
be
wholly
good
in
an
imperfect
world
?
The
story
is
set
in
Sichuan
province,
where
three
Enlightened
Ones
come
down
to
earth
in
search
of
just
one
good
person
in
a
world
of
dishonesty,
poverty
and
evil.
They
reward
her
with
enough
money
to
start
up
a
business,
and
that's
when
her
troubles
begin
…
Nikolai
Foster's
production
uses
a
modern,
but
by
no
means
colloquial,
translation
by
poet
Michael
Hofmann.
["Is
it
not
fatiguing
to
lash
out
at
one's
fellow
creatures?"
a
typical
line.]
It
boasts
that
it
is
"bang
up
to
date".
Now
it
is
true
that
the
themes
of
the
play
are
very
relevant
to
our
own
society,
just
as
Brecht
would
have
felt
that
China
resonated
with
Germany.
He
would
want
us
to
ponder
the
links
between
economics
and
morality.
And
this
is
just
what
we're
encouraged
to
do
by
the
Mercury's
Only
Way
Is
Ethics
festival,
running
in
parallel
with
this
piece
and
Man
to
Man,
its
companion
in
the
studio.
But
a
specific,
realistic
setting
will
always
be
fighting
against
the
text;
the
grungy
urban
style
of
this
production,
and
the
demotic
delivery,
seem
to
diminish,
rather
than
enhance,
its
message.
It
is
a
splendid
set,
though,
– design
by
"takis"
– on
three
levels,
with
graffiti
tags,
a
burnt
out
car,
a
vending
machine.
There
is
music
composed
by
Grant
Olding
– the
Pigs
Will
Fly
number
at
the
wedding
works
well,
perhaps
because
all
the
words
are
audible.
There
are
several
strong
performances:
Tanya
Franks
is
Shen
Te
the
prostitute
who
opens
a
tobacco
shop
with
the
Gods'
reward.
She's
the
Angel
of
the
Suburbs;
her
rice
food
bank
is
a
lifeline,
but
her
life
boat
is
soon
swamped
by
sheer
force
of
numbers,
so
she
has
to
invent,
and
impersonate,
a
male
"cousin"
alter
ego
to
avoid
being
exploited
by
the
teeming
masses
of
the
poor.
Her
final
speech
is
movingly
done,
as
she
reveals
her
ruse
to
the
Gods
in
judgement.
Gary
Shelford
is
jobless
pilot
Yang
Sun,
Jake
Davis
the
friendly
water
seller
Wang
who
draws
us
into
the
narrative
and
keeps
a
watching
brief.
And
Sue
Vincent
makes
a
blunt,
no-nonsense
shopkeeper
as
well
as
the
mother
of
the
bridegroom.
Good
to
see
a
posse
of
youngsters
drafted
in
to
play
extended
families,
beggars,
and
in
a
touching
moment,
Shen's
future
son.
Some
of
the
most
effective
scenes
are
the
simplest
– the
three
Gods
and
Wang
always
strongly
grouped
– and
the
trial,
least
naturalistic
of
the
scenes,
is
the
stronger
for
it.
No
epilogue
here,
but
a
much
more
powerful
ending
in
Shen
Te's
heart-rending,
rain-sodden
plea
for
help,
not
to
the
departing
Gods,
but
to
us
the
audience.
this piece first appeared on The Public Reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.