A CONVERSATION. To 8 December.
Manchester.
A CONVERSATION
by David Williamson
Royal Exchange Theatre To 8 December 2007.
Mon-Fri 7.30pm Sat 8pm Mat Wed 2.30pm & Sat 4pm
Audio-described 1 Dec 4pm.
BSL Signed 8 Dec 4pm.
Post-show discussion 29 Nov.
Runs 1hr 30min No interval.
TICKETS: 0161 833 9833.
www.royalexchange.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 21 November.
Play that might try to include too much, but certainly contains a lot.
UnlikeThe Flags, also revived in the main Royal Exchange after an initial studio run, this has an entirely separate cast from its original, 2004 production. With experienced Exchangers like Jonathan Hackett, Kellie Bright and Susan Twist, it’s a festival of the strong company acting underpinning the theatre at its best.
Despite facilitator Jack Manning telling participants in an Australian ‘community conference’ they can move about, they rarely do in Jacob Murray’s production. In my case I saw Jonathan Hackett’s hackles rise as Derek Milsom largely through voice and neck muscles, while having an uninterrupted view of Susan Twist’s facial responses and expressions as a member of the Williams family.
The questioning, concern, hope and guilt – always clear, never over-fussy - Twist registers as mother of a teenager who raped and killed the Milsoms’ daughter are natural-seeming as this fine performer always is. And, even from behind, Milsom’s consuming fury, evidenced in the pile of research he clutches close to him or holds out vehemently to quote from, is palpable.
The weakness in David Williamson’s play may arise from its origins in three Australian cases. There’s a recurrent need to fit in points and fill out arguments, that doesn’t always allow natural emotional curves in characters. This particularly affects Bright’s Gail, the smart-suited, uni-educated sister whose success contrasts her brothers and gives her a rebarbative social viewpoint from which, at times, she swerves away.
Asked to explain how only one of three siblings became a violent criminal, Gail talks of a character “quirk”, but that’s never treated other than in terms of its effect. Coral, too, shifts gear unpredictably, between self-blame and self-justification.
Yet the play often provides a provocative clash of attitudes. Murray’s cast exemplify a divided society, which only the successful view positively. It’s seen in the Milsoms’ formal suit and elegant dress, contrasting Coral’s functional clothing and the work-clothes of Colin Proktor’s uncle.
Arguments among the Williams can be keen as, and more surprising than, those between the families. By contrast, the arguments between the two professionals seem imposed. But this conversation is well worth hearing again.
Jack Manning: Stuart Bowman.
Loren Zemanek: Christine Stephen-Daly.
Derek Milsom: Jonathan Hackett.
Barbara Milsom: Margot Leicester.
Coral Williams: Susan Twist.
Bob Shorter: Colin Prokter.
Gail Williams: Kellie Bright.
Mick Williams: Paul Stocker.
Director: Jacob Murray.
Designer: Angela Simpson.
Lighting: Oliver Fenwick.
Sound: Steve Brown.
Dialects: Lise Olson.
2007-11-26 10:28:55