A GIRL IN A CAR WITH A MAN. To 11 December.
London
A GIRL IN A CAR WITH A MAN
by Rob Evans
Royal Court (Jerwood Theatre Upstairs) To 11 December 2004
Mon-Sat 7.45pm Mat Sat 4pm
BSL Signed 8 December
Runs 1hr 50min No interval
TICKETS: 020 7565 5000/020 7565 5100 (10am-6pm)
www.royalcourttheatre.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 30 November
Live theatre, cameras, action in the security-conscious age of anxiety.An audience in a theatre with a play; a place for watching becomes itself watched - security monitors before the show flash images from around the Royal Court into the Theatre Upstairs. The action itself's largely encircled by two rows of audience; occasionally an actor walks into observers' blind spots. Further audience members sit at one end of the room; at the other is an observation gallery, stocked with more security monitors.
But when the video shows a man taking a small girl's hand (ironically, the play's only physical contact), luring her into his car and driving away, the tapes catching the image give out there's no visual record of where they went. Car and man remain unidentified from the tapes. The girl ends up dead.
Meanwhile, a London woman paid to display jewellery on a TV shopping channel is denied a live audience. She got the job through her facility at convincing viewers she has a genuine interest in the goods. She drives away, for no discernible reason, to Scotland. Where she arrives with an unconvincing story in pouring rain, sheltering at the home of a photographer with no TV who's given up taking pictures.
Meanwhile, a self-regarding young gay man records his sensual experiences close-up on hand-held camera, initial self-delighted comedy taking on a more sinister tinge and appearance as he proceeds.
Too much knowledge, not enough wisdom. People who watch (there's also a female security guard and a male policeman with a strange story of night-time patrols) and put on an appearance for a living or as a lifestyle, cannot see or face seeing too far into themselves. They talk, tear up, ignore or in one case turn to the non-seeing radio.
It's another bleak vision, and as part of the Royal Court's Genesis project for new theatre it emerges as impressive in concept and technique. Character comes second to theme, perhaps more than this fine cast allow us to notice. And if Joe Hill-Gibbins' production is also characteristic of a new director, that's no bad thing. It has a zestful energy in its staging, along with control of mood and pace.
Stella: Claudia Blakley
David: Mark Bonnar
Policeman: Maark Leadbetter
Alex: Andrew Scott
Paula: Sukie Smith
Director: Joe Hill-Gibbins
Designer: Ultz
Lighting: Ultz, Johanna Town
Sound: Paul Arditti
Video Design: Sven Ortel
Company voice work: Patsy Rodenburg
Assistant director: Pia Furtado
Assistant designers: Jeremy Daker, Elizabeth K Schwartz
2004-12-02 00:46:20