CLOUD NINE. To 8 December.
London.
CLOUD NINE
by Caryl Churchill.
Almeida Theatre To 8 December 2007.
Mon – Sat 7.30pm, Mat Sat & 28 Nov 3pm.
Audio-described 1 December 3pm
BSL Signed 4 Dec.
Captioned 21 Nov.
Runs 2hr 30min One interval.
TICKETS: 0207 359 4404.
www.almeida.co.uk
Review: Harriet Davis 3 November.
Moving, refreshingly honest, and very funny.
Despite having been written in 1979, Caryl Churchill’s gender-bending comedy feels as fresh as ever. The first act is set in colonial Africa, while the second transports us to the late 1970’s, the heyday of Women’s Lib. A hundred years have passed but the characters only age by twenty-five, as they grapple to adjust to the social climate.
The first act is a delight, a shrewd and hilarious commentary on the nature of gender construction and its relationship to colonial values. The characters are deliberate stereotypes – the patriarchal husband, the submissive wife – but Churchill subverts the meaning of these roles by having the actors play against gender, and in the case of an African-born servant, race. So when Clive (James Fleet) applauds his wife’s delicate nature, he is in fact addressing a six-foot tall man.
But Churchill does not merely reverse the roles; she also makes casting decisions based on particular characteristics. Clive’s wife (Po Poraj) is a woman, played by a man, who dedicates her life to the service of others. In the second act Poraj plays her male incarnation, a gay man who behaves like a dutiful wife. Neither is able to please themselves, despite the newfound sexual freedom.
Thea Sharrock, who directed Churchill’s Top Girls in 2002, presents these characters with warmth and complexity. Though the second act seems to raise more questions than it answers, the message seems to be that while these individuals have undoubtedly benefited from sexual and social liberation, the question of how to behave is no more easily answered. As Betty, in a touching moment of self-discovery, points out, “if there isn’t a right way to do things, you have to invent one.”
The cast are resoundingly excellent. Tobias Menzies is utterly convincing as British explorer Harry Bagley (desired by men, women and children alike) and the downtrodden husband of the second act, while Mark Letheren is hilarious as po-faced, self-deluding Joshua. The set - which faintly alludes to a doll’s house – is fitting, and the songs are delivered with both poise and irony.
Clive/Cathy: James Fleet.
Joshua/Gerry: Mark Letheren.
Harry Bagley/Martin: Tobias Menzies.
Betty/Edward: Bo Poraj.
Maud/Victoria: Joanna Scanlan.
Ellen/Mrs Saunders/Lin: Sophie Stanton.
Edward/Betty: Nicola Walker.
Director: Thea Sharrock.
Designer: Peter McKintosh.
Lighting: Peter Mumford.
Sound: Gregory Clarke.
Music: Stephen Warbeck.
Choreography: Scarlett Mackmin.
2007-11-04 02:50:10