| reporting the edge | credits | |
home
|
about
|
news
|
contents
|
gossip
|
photographs
|
venues
|
brighton
|
dublin
|
edinburgh
|
film
|
features
|
interviews
|
awards
|
fashion
|
recipes
|
no more drinks
|
newsletter
|
links
|
contact
Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
The Mother
Verdict: Sex, drugs, but no rock and roll
There's strange music and a corpse, the Mother (Diana Walker), lying stiff on a sofa. Her son Leon (Jakub Drewa) begins to explain the circumstances of her death. This scene is repeated at the end of the play. In between, the story of the two protagonists is unravelled. There are some solid performances. Diana Walker has a lot of presence, and Jakub Drewa is always interesting, but the play itself is a mess.
During the first half, Leon is a self-proclaimed prodigy, thinking himself able to excel in art, writing or philosophy, but all the while relying on his mother for money. The crisis comes when he hires a hall for a lecture to explain his ideas. It ends in a fight, more debt, and marks some kind of turning point. Up to then, most of the script is concerned with children and what people expect from them, and there are some good things going on. The mother's maid, Dorothy (Nadia Chancel) is suitably lumpen and a bit creepy. (Would it have been better if Leon had died in the war and become a hero, as her son had?) Meanwhile, Leon goes on doing what sons have done since time immemorial – having big ideas, spending money they don't have, debating their own genius, loving indiscreetly - while the Mother not too quietly drowns herself in vodka. It's a bit shapeless, but with enough oddity to keep interest, and the shambling entry of Apollinaire Stonybroke (Julian Lamoral-Roberts), the father of Leon's fiance, seems to promise something for the second half. But the second half is a disappointment. Swapping a bludgeon for any kind of subtlety, the characters - including Lucina (Damian Dudkiewicz, unsteady on pink heels) - unravel in a riot of booze, sex and drugs. Stanislaw Ignacy Wietkiewicz (1885-1939) wrote this play in 1924. His own life was odd and certainly featured drugs. He wrote plays and novels, painted portraits, and had been a soldier during the Russian Revolution. Was The Mother an autobiographical statement? Certainly elements of Leon's decline were reflected in his own story; maybe this was more of a cry of pain than anything else, but sadly, it isn't great theatre.Cast Credits: (alpha order): Nadia Chancel - Dorothy. Jakub Drewa - Leon (the son). Damian Dudkiewicz - Lucina Beer. Lucy Joy - Sophia. Julian Lamoral-Roberts - Apollinaire Stonybroke. Darren McIlroy - Calfskin. Greg Tate - Trefouille. Diana Walker - The Mother.
Company Credits: Writer - Stanislaw Ignacy Wietkiewicz (1885-1939). Directors - Agata Szymanska & Malwina Sworczuk. Stage Designer - Tomasz Kraska. Music - Jerzy Bielski & Lanza!. Technical Operator - uncredited. Producer - uncredited. Company - te art project. Website - www.teartproject.com.
END
(c) Michael Spring 2009
reviewed Friday, 16 January 2009 / Camden People's Theatre
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012