“That’s some catch, that Catch-22.”
“It’s the best there is.”
Since I first read it, aged 15, Catch 22 has been my favourite novel. I’ve read it over and over again, watched the Alan Arkin film, and when I saw that Northern Stage’s production was coming to the Oxford Playhouse, I knew I had to see it. I was filled with equal parts excitement and apprehension – sure, if it was well done, it would be amazing. But it’s a pretty odd book, what if it was a disaster…?
It is amazing. From the visual impact of the stage as I step into the auditorium, to the last bow as the house lights rise, there isn’t a sour note in the production. Joseph Heller adapted the novel for the stage himself, so although there are a fair few deviances from the novel, the play remains true to the tone and message of the book.
Philip Arditti as the main character, Yossarian, is wonderfully cast. Yossarian is crazy, and yet, according to Catch 22, he must declare himself crazy to leave combat (although to declare himself crazy would be to demonstrate his sanity and he wouldn’t be allowed to leave). Arditti plays Yossarian as a wide-eyed, unhinged paranoiac who is definitely going insane as all around him his friends are dying and no one seems to notice or care.
Acting in this play must be challenging. The cast members have to double and triple their roles with changes of hat, accent, and personality. The amount of physicality in the play is astounding – I imagine the actors must reach the end of each performance exhausted. Every actor is excellent – when they come to take a bow, I am surprised at how few actors are actually on stage compared to the number of characters they play!
The staging is bold – half a military airplane fills the stage. The cast clambers over it, weaving it into the performance as an office, dancehall, hospital. It looms large, never allowing cast or audience to forget that war is always present. Lighting is used to superb effect; lighting designer Charles Balfour is a bit of a wizard, and he and sound designer Scott Twynholm manage to perfectly evoke the weird disjointed nature of the narrative in their manipulation of the visual and sound effects.
It’s a long play, over 3 hours including the interval, but I must confess I don’t notice the time passing as I’m caught up in the lives of these soldiers trying to stay alive. Whether you’ve read the book or not, I advise you to see this play during its run at the Oxford Playhouse until Saturday 14th. ★★★★★ @BookingAround
