CHRISTMAS. To 31 January.
London
CHRISTMAS
by Simon Stephens
Bush Theatre To 31 January 2004
Mon-Sat 8pm
Runs 1hr 30min No interval
TICKETS: 020 7610 4224
www.bushtheatre.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 14 January
East goes West in a double pub-theatre portrait of drifters stuck in a rut.Thank goodness Brighton's A.P.E. theatre company didn't bring Simon Stephens' play to the Bush any earlier. With Christmas already the suicide capital of the year, Stephens' downbeat drama (with enough four-letter language to make David Mamet almost blush) might tip a few more over the top.
These people aren't sleeping rough but they've a sense of homelessness, with this pub their last shelter. Landlord Magraw's from Wicklow, Bernard Gallagher's Seppo an Italian immigrant, while young Billy's East London born and bred.
He's a casual brickie; Giuseppe runs a faltering hairdresser's and their home's condemned as the pub falls behind with the rent and the brewery. Every one here has family tensions or losses, while East London's left them behind, aliens in a world of sandwich shops for a new, on-the-go population.
Christmas being either a secular or spiritual time, the intruder into this little world of lost and mutually-comforting souls could fit either camp. With his surprise win on an outsider and his musical past (a professional cellist hawking his instrument for £2,500), his outbursts that seem to show understanding of people but which could be mere drunken aggression, postman Charlie suggests an injured angel and another drifter whose life's become the burden of memories.
Christmas has neither the sweep of Stephens' Port nor the intricacy of One Minute (ATC's 2003 premiere production follows into the Bush in February 04). A miniature to a broad canvas, it's smaller in scale but not, by the end, less in achievement.
Especially in Jo McInnes's superbly-acted production, it's core cast complemented by a nightly rotation, Play What I Wrote-style, of quick-stop passing-trade. A man failing with his magic, another drinking only a sup from his glass, the usual insult of someone asking for another pub such figures add to both the realism and magical intensity of a richly-drawn experience.
Fred Ridgeway's Michael, lapsing into the Irish at moments of strain, is a picture of defeat, keeping desperation at bay with bouts of press-ups. Lee Ross's manner turns inward in an unfamiliar presence, Gallagher captures old-time smartness beautifully, while Paul Ritter's Charlie is thrillingly enigmatic. Hardly a merry Christmas at the Bush, but a happy New Year.
Michael Macgraw: Fred Ridgeway
Billy Lee Russell: Lee Ross
Giuseppe Rossi: Bernard Gallagher
Charlie Anderson: Paul Ritter
Director: Jo McInnes
Designers: James Humphrey, Geoff Rose
Lighting: Matt Eaglan
Sound: Mike Winship
Composer: Will Matthews
2004-01-15 18:04:25