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.
C. P. Taylor’s 'Good' tells of a mild-mannered academic by the name of John Halder. Set in 1930’s Germany, the play focuses on how this unassuming man is swept up within the world’s most infamous political regime. We follow him from everyday life as a dutiful husband and father to the point at which he steps off the train at Auschwitz in 1941, in an SS uniform.
Ross Meikle as Halder was superb. He had the gargantuan task of carrying the entire two and a half hour play on his shoulders and did so with great success. His ability to convey the humanity in Halder’s character was impressive, playing him with just the right balance of integrity, naivety and weakness.
The support cast were all talented and there was not a poor performance to be seen. Chris White played Maurice – Halder’s Jewish friend who witnesses his induction into the Party. White was able to brilliantly portray Maurice’s emotional journey from the enthusiastic and verbose free-thinker to the broken and desperate man left to wait for his inescapable extermination. White’s performance, although extremely intense, was never forced or unjustified; a rounded picture of hopeless panic. Meg Henry played Halder’s first wife, Helen. Her understated tone, pitch and pace often brought moments of great comedy; her performance was subtle but sublime. She also excelled at giving Helen moments of dismayed futility as a sobering contrast, particularly in scenes of the marriage’s disintegration.
Rebecca Darmody was set a challenge far different to these actors, she was required to play six roles – often various Nazis of differing status, intelligence and decorum. Particularly notable was her surprising Chaplin-esque performance of Hitler in which we saw an intriguing physical display of impersonation and comic timing. She carried off her variety of characters well, each new persona successfully independent of the last. Directors Gareth Prescott and Daniel Moody successfully crafted beautiful dynamics between the characters that were both believable and compelling.
Unfortunately, although a brilliant play, there were downsides which must be touched upon. Firstly, the sheer size of the chosen performance space which stretched, in traverse, right across the black box studio – a colossal field difficult for even the most talented actor to command. Although assisted by lighting, the area sometimes felt too vast for the more restrained performances. The stage was split into three sets, which at times meant Meikle had to run back and forth to accommodate wherever the next scene was set. Some staging felt ignorant as the audience were sat uncomfortably perpendicular to the action for extended periods of time. Actors were also sometimes placed in odd positions, forcing the audience to bend around the person next to us or peer over pieces of set to witness what was happening. Something that particularly jarred with me was having Halder’s Mother wheeled onstage by the Stage Manager rather than a character – this broke the flow of the scene and was never justified.
Nevertheless, the play was generally technically impressive. Andrew Farrington must be commended on his masterful lighting design. Similarly, Niklaus Smith’s musical direction gave a poignant underscore to the play and the use of a live band was exquisite – proved by the audiences’ reluctance to leave while they played. Chris White’s set was inspired, stretching from the shambolic disorder of Halder’s cluttered home to the shining, stark geometry of the Nazi headquarters, both symbolic and visually astounding.
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