Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
Centring on a somewhat strange working-class family in 1960s London, tension arises when the eldest and most academically prosperous son of the family arrives from America to his oestrogen-depleted childhood home with his oddly seductive wife. Appearing in the middle of the night, Teddy and Ruth are set to cause quite a stir.
Like many of Pinter’s plays, The Homecoming combines certified surrealism with such deeply insightful comments on human interaction that it leaves you feeling slightly disturbed. Lying in every pregnant pause and heated exchange, the familiar domestic tension jolts the audience awake from the dream-like scenarios that frequent this contrasting script.
This production of a Pinter classic is claustrophobic and uncomfortable; perfect for a play in which unspoken tension and emotional disturbance run as centrally as the most notable themes of gender-role, morality and sexual perversion. However, the chemistry between the characters does not develop to its full potential in this environment; the sexual tension in highly provocative scenes falls surprisingly flat in the intimate Drama Barn.
The characters’ bleak depictions of familial conflict made the play truly thought-provoking. Alex Forsyth’s portrayal of a coarsely antagonistic elderly father made the production as complex as a Pinter should be. Whilst spitting out animalistic insults and jibes, Forsyth maintained an emotionally raw edge which provided much of the play’s poignancy. Ned Roberts as Teddy successfully managed to juggle a condescending attitude with endearing sentiment to provide the audience with an appropriately difficult contrast of reactions as the play comes to its absurd close.
This play deserves its highly acclaimed status as one of Pinter’s best plays. It still touches a decidedly familiar base in its portrayal of family tension and gender roles forty odd years after its first showing. This Drama Barn production does not quite hit the mark where raw chemistry is concerned but many of the performances allow the audience a lucid insight into Pinter’s menacingly dream-like literary world.
The Homecoming is showing week 5 this weekend in the Drama Barn. Doors open at 7.30 and tickets are available on the door. Arrive early to avoid disappointment.
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