During the heady days of the sixties, when British bands dominated the charts, there was only one American band, apart from the Beach Boys, that could give the Beatles and the Stones a run for their money – the Four Seasons. Nevertheless, the Four Seasons, with their distinctive lead singer Frankie Valli, were a bit of an anachronism.
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Few dramatists can lay a claim to be ‘actor proof’, in the sense that the lines in their plays or their plots do all the work and that however much a company sets out to mangle the playwright’s intentions, something wonderful will shine through. Fewer still go the extra mile and demand a particular kind of approach – indeed a particular kind of delivery – in order to unlock whatever treasure may lie within…Peter McKIntosh’s set is the kind you would like to move into as it sets the action firmly in the comfortable home counties.
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The cast is made up of only six actors, which is a bit of a surprise when they come to the final bow. Scott Ainslie’s portrayal of Macbeth’s descent into madness is chilling – his swagger and bravado giving way to paranoia and fear. Laura Murray as Lady Macbeth begins her role delightfully wickedly, and ends it tragically in the horrible scene on the ramparts of the castle, desperately trying to remove the ‘damned spot’ from her hands.
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“…This is a bitter comedy about tradition, culture and identity, but what sets it apart from the usual fare of young adults looking to set their own cultural agenda is that it is not inter-generational. The two main combatants in the battle of minds and wills are cousins of the same age…What lifts this play from worthy mediocrity is the passion of the characters. No holds are barred, as perceived faults are vitriolically dredged up. In this the author is well served by a strong cast and sure handed directing….With this powerful comedy the Ustinov has scored again with a play of substance and quality.”
Read More“…as theatre, Jonathan Munby’s production is superb. Visually it is stunning with a simple, flexible, monochrome box set by Mike Britton that adapts brilliantly to what is required of it with the sides sliding in and out in a multitude of configurations. There is even a stream of water running along the front of the stage to represent the omnipresent River Seine which figures so largely in the story…for the most part, it was very good indeed, bordering on brilliant.
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David Lane’s play takes the form of a first person, present tense narration of the descent towards psychological collapse of a complex and troubled personality. In lesser hands the fact-into-conceit of this subject might have produced little more than a depressingly parochial chronology-cum-travelogue, but the direction Lane has taken gives us a credible exploration of an area of personal (and to a lesser extent social) identity as it affects a damaged personality. The bald facts of Svetlana Alliluyeva’s life are a matter of record; the defection, the marriages, the time in America and the subsequent British citizenship.
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