Cool Hand Luke **

Cool Hand Luke is the story of a war veteran in America who, due to his experience of WWII, has lost his faith in both God and the hypocritical authorities that use religion to justify their actions. Based on the 1965 book written by Donn Pearce and not the successful 1967 film adaptation starring the indomitable Paul Newman. Revised by Emma Reeves for its world premiere on the West End, the results are less than enchanting.

      

There are a number of problems with the production that stand between it and a good review, not least of which is the undeniably poor stage violence. Even sitting at the very back of the stalls I could see the obvious lack of contact where guards were supposed to be hitting and kicking the convicts all the time. It just felt a bit farcical. This wasn’t helped by the pathetic use of props in a couple of scenes. When one person had to bring on a turtle that Boss Godfrey had shot, he brings on an obviously plastic turtle that was about as large as his torso and was probably found at the Early Learning Centre. A short time later when the group was set to be harassed by a ‘dangerous snake’ they spent a couple of minutes fighting with empty space until Warren reached behind a bush and pulled out a toy snake, making a clowning effort to simulate life in the poor thing. Embarrassing doesn’t cover it, especially for a West End show.

      

The script itself was possibly the main stumbling block. I’m not sure how Luke was able to grapple with the apparent absence of his God when he had the far more immediate concern of trying to hammer his way through a dull, fragmented and one-dimensional script. There were only a few mentions of his struggle with God and it was never fully explored, the overriding coolness of his character being apparently more important than any emotional growth or expression, even in a monologue. The script just wasn’t good enough, simple as that.

      

The gospel singing that sprang up throughout the show, most obviously in scene changes, was undoubtedly beautiful but far from adding to the show, actually took from it. Although the story is told in the form of an obvious narrative (where Dragline tells the story to his fellow chain gang members) the intermittent singing further fragmented the scenes, making them appear like chapters in a book more than a single continuous story. It was also a rather clumsy way to place the image of God in the foreground of the whole show and undermined to a large extent the efforts of the other people in the chain gang to make an impact on the audience.

      

Marc Warren’s efforts as Cool Hand Luke himself were strong. Throughout he was the cool figure you expect to see and he gave a good showcase of his skills as a performer as well. His cameo with a banjo was impressive and could have been used more to greater effect and his comedic turn when working his way through the infamous egg-eating scene really made the audience laugh, which was sorely needed by that point. It felt like he was constantly struggling with a script that gave him very little room to expand his character and as a result the character seemed a bit wooden. When he was given the opportunity to expand a bit, he took them with both hands but such occasions were few and far between.

      

One character who was given plenty of opportunity to shine and who took every opportunity with both hands and made a damn good show out of it was Lee Boardman as Dragline. From the very beginning where he starts telling the story you can feel he has a fully developed character and as the story of Cool Hand Luke progresses he is the one who appears to be at the centre of it all. Boardman gave a first class performance and I look forward to seeing him in whatever he turns his hand to next. Dragline was the character you related to, the character you empathised with and this was largely thanks to Boardman's riveting, nuanced and emotionally charged performance.

It wasn’t all roses when it came to the cast, however, and now’s the time where I turn more critical eyes to the cast and in particular to Richard Brake, who played the part of Boss Godfrey, the big bad wolf of the prison. He is meant to be intimidating and terrifying, the kind of person you don’t want to cross if you have a particular attachment to any part of your body that could easily be removed. He is not at all. Brake is more caricature than character and stalks around the stage with the bearing of a one-dimensional bad guy empty behind the stereotypical sunglasses and hat. There is no character behind the costume at all and the lack of fear deeply undermines the rest of the show. If I hear the phrase ‘get your mind right’ one more time I’ll do something terrible. Like imitate his accent.

      

What is meant to be a gritty, dirty and violent show turned into a comedic farce. I was very disappointed by Cool Hand Luke, the script being the main fault but the direction being just as responsible for what felt like a sixth form show despite the best efforts of Warren, Boardman and a few others. This is a play about a chain gang and as Johnny Cash reminds us, ‘there ain’t no good chain gang.’

Written by Emma Reeves; Directed by Andrew Loudon; At the Aldwych Theatre; Starring Marc Warren, Lee Boardman, Richard Brake, Bret Jones, Sondra Marvin, Tania Mathurin; Runs from 23 September 11 - 7 January 12.

http://www.coolhandluke.co.uk/

John Ord (05/10/2011)

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice ***

Little Voice is different. Living with her widowed mother the only place she finds any solace is in her records, left to her by her father. She locks herself away in her room and is a quiet, reclusive girl, preferring to be kept apart from her mother and her various and numerous gentlemen callers. The most recent of these is Ray Say, an impresario for the local entertainment circuit who overhears Little Voice singing in her room and smells success, but first he must find a way to convince this shy creature to take to the stage. The story of her often traumatic journey is full of moments that could make your heart stand up and openly weep or dance on cue.

      

The cast has promise in it; Helen Sheals plays Little Voice’s mother in this production but was cast as LV herself in the premiere at the Bristol Old Vic in 1993. Lauren Hood, who plays Little Voice herself, graduated from Mountview in 2008 and has been nominated for numerous awards since; a real up-and-coming star of the theatrical firmament. Unfortunately, she is the only bright light in the show, which is unfortunate not least because one of the characters is a lighting technician.

      

Helen Sheals fell victim to a number of line slips that were the beginning of the slope that continued to decline for two hours. There was little variation in her tone, no tenderness in her, no depth of character or nuance to give her more humanity than the caricatured role of ‘drunk and selfish mother’. I would have expected a more nuanced performance from someone who knows the script as intimately as she should but she cannot take sole responsibility for it.

      

Neil McCaul as Ray was good; he had a latent bravado that brought some energy to the stage bringing with it a solidity and a firmness both in his character and his performance. When he was on stage there was a clear direction to the action and some of his conversations with LV were deeply moving, he was even funny from time to time.

     

Despite this, Lauren Hood was undoubtedly the centerpiece holding the show together. She had a much deeper level of character than the others and the musical showcase that the play afforded her had my hair standing on end, each competing for the best possible view. Whether she was quietly clinging to her necklace or boldly singing on stage she was both believable and watchable, giving a commendable performance. Watch this space.

       

Lisa Riley isn’t given much of a chance to shine as Sadie, which was a bit of a missed opportunity, apart from the loosely choreographed dance scene that might have sent Michael Jackson to the grave if he hadn’t already paid it a visit or two. I joke; it wasn’t that bad but as with much of the show I couldn’t discern whether or not it was meant to be bad. A few of the jokes are obviously intended to be bad jokes but not all of them, I hope, and a few of the moments dotted around seem to be similarly perplexing. I point the finger of misdirection at, guess who, the director. Suspiciously sharing a surname with the painfully underwhelming Jack Chissick she has failed to bring the performance out of the woodwork that may be waiting there. It felt like a dress rehearsal with little confidence in the action, movement or lines and very little depth and nuance to the characters.

      

The set deserves a mention, it was very good; the upstairs downstairs separation of LV’s bedroom and the living room worked very well and the ease with which the set transformed from the house to the club was simple and effective. Technically, however, there were a fair few rough edges. Hood had a microphone on her cheek but Jack Chissick was given an unnecessary freestanding mic that he shouted into, battering the audience with consonants, which was especially annoying after the constant feedback from the speakers. There was also a poorly disguised smoke machine and a Rubik’s Cube that was frustratingly out of place. But I’m nitpicking now.

      

The script was puzzling at best, the title implying that the piece is a tragedy but the finale being ambiguous enough to leave us without a satisfying ending and a lot of imagery that could have been used to much greater effect and poignancy (particularly surrounding the regrettably bitty part of Billy, the man with a passion for lights). The title also implies that the story is about LV, but one would be mistaken to believe that to be the case as it focuses more on her overbearing mother and completely skips the stories you’d want to see, for example how Ray convinced and trained LV to give the performance she did. There is definitely a story in there but I’m not entirely sure how it was nominated for so many awards when it opened; it feels more like a draft than a finished play.

      

Having said all this rather negative stuff, it’s not actually a bad night. Hood’s medley in the second act saves the show from the doldrums and gives it all a bit of sparkle, which is sorely needed. Although it’s not worth traipsing round the country for, it’s not the worst thing in the world to be subjected to for a couple of hours. Thank Lauren Hood for that.

Written by Jim Cartwright; Directed by Hannah Chissick; At the Oxford Playhouse; Starring Lauren Hood, Helen Sheals, Lisa Riley, Philip Hill-Pearson, Neil McCaul, Jack Chissick; Runs from 29 July 11 - 20 August 11 (tour).

http://www.hulltruck.co.uk/on-tour/on-tour-little-voice

John Ord (23/08/2011)

Richard III ****

The final installment of one of Shakespeare’s tetralogies, following Henry VI Parts 1 -3, the play tells the story of the rise of Richard III and his immediate decline at Bosworth Field. It is a particularly striking story, marking the end of the Wars of the Roses and placing Richard in a particularly interesting position. Shakespeare gives us a character that is the classic anti-hero. Everything he does is malicious, selfish and Machiavellian, his behavior the exact opposite of the classical hero, yet he is the main character in the play, the focus, the lead. Shakespeare invested a lot of time into making this dynamic work, this being his longest play of all bar only Hamlet, which results in a character that is charming and seductive as well as bitter and evil. It is a delight to watch from beginning to end whether you are aware of the constantly referenced Henry VI plays or not.

      

The design of a Shakespeare play is always crucial. Mendes has opted for modern dress and has imitated the uniform of various dictatorships in our modern world, giving it that necessary modern feel. The design of the set was marvellous from start to finish. The greyness wasn’t overbearing and the doors that surrounded the stage gave enough options for the action to be constantly dynamic. When the stage opened back at the interval the shape changed and gave a feeling of unification and direction; that there was now only one way the action was going and it was surprisingly powerful.

      

There is a lot of technology involved in the show and, by and large, it was all very good indeed. The scene where Richard is offered the crown over a video link was both funny and disturbing, much like Richard himself. The titles splashed across the stage at each scene change helped give the show direction and I approved of them but there was a bit too much technology. The use of microphones and supplemented cheering from crowds was fantastic and really gave a sense of drama but this wasn’t the case for all innovations. The power of good old-fashioned drums was proven in this production; when there were only a few drums they felt powerful, when everyone was on stage with one and making a lot of noise it was truly imposing.

      

One of the famous Shakespearean roles, Richard III is taken easily in his stride by Kevin Spacey, clearly wanting to give a different take on the role to the successes of the past. His dictator is very panto in his characterization; the contraption that straps his leg together and his walk as a result of it are very Hunchback of Notre Dame and his mannerisms and swift flips between smiling façade and sinister plotting are sudden and comical – it is a very funny Richard that Spacey gives us – and the result is that you enjoy his time on stage, you enjoy him and his plans and even though you know he must be defeated and that it is good that he is defeated you do mourn his passing. Spacey’s Richard is enjoying his life, he is enjoying killing people left right and center, he is enjoying scheming and deceiving his friends and the people as if it were a glorified game to him. This makes him all the more human and watchable. Spacey never once makes a mistake, a wrong line, a faulty step or anything and his Richard is confident and assured as a result, making him as terrifying as he is pantomime.

      

There is not a weak link in the cast but there are too many of them to compliment name by name so I shall settle for picking out Chuck Iwuji as a special mention. Other than Spacey’s Richard, his Buckingham was the character that stood out the most and this was all due to Iwuji’s dauntless efforts. Whether scheming in a shady room or on the television asking Richard to be King of England he is confident and subtle, a perfect performance. You often see Shakespeare on stage and lose the meaning of the lines because the actors themselves aren’t entirely sure what they’re saying. Iwuji clearly understood every word and his brilliant delivery ensured that we did as well: a rival for Kevin Spacey as the leading member of the cast in my opinion.

      

There is the undeniable feel of Sam Mendes about this production, again proving in his Bridge Project with the Old Vic that American and English actors can mix and do Shakespeare well he is developing a new style of transatlantic theatre.

      

It was not, however, a perfect show (although this may now be classed as nitpicking). The decision to have the two young princes in the tower played by women made no sense at all. There was no need for it and it only served to break the rhythm, suddenly making you very aware that you were in a theatre watching a play as opposed to being engrossed in the action. The only major criticism is of the character of Margaret. It wasn’t clear what exactly she was, whether she was a ghost or a witch or an old bitter Queen. She wasn’t incorporated well into the current action of the play and from her first appearance I wasn’t entirely sure of her context or form.

      

This show is one of the best I have seen in recent months, which is perhaps unsurprising for the Old Vic, thriving under the Artistic Direction of Kevin Spacey. As Shakespeare goes, this goes very well indeed, succeeding in almost every facet. It would be regrettable indeed to miss it.

Written by William Shakespeare; Directed by Sam Mendes; At the Old Vic; Starring Kevin Spacey, Chuk Iwuji, Jack Ellis, Gary Powell, Andrew Long, Michael Rudko, Annabel Scholey, Haydyn Gwynne; Runs from18 June 11 - 11 September 11.

http://www.oldvictheatre.com/whatson.php?id=75

John Ord (19/07/2011)