COUNTRY MUSIC. To 17 July.

London

COUNTRY MUSIC
by Simon Stephens

Royal Court (Jerwood Theatre Upstairs) To 17 July 2004
Mon-Sat 7.45pm Mat Sat 4pm
BSL Signed 15 July
Runs 1hr 5min No interval

TICKETS: 020 7565 5000
www.royalcourttheatre.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 6 July

Spare and elliptical; character emerges rather than develops.For several minutes in this Royal Court/ATC co-production I feared Simon Stephens was losing his dramatic marbles. Two teenagers sitting in a posh car, the light of exposition gradually showing a penumbra of theft and violence. We could be back in any seventies or eighties understand the sensitive soul beneath the yob, back-street Bonnie and Clyde drama.

Soon, though, it's clear Lynsey doesn't want to be there, though Jamie thinks he's helping, taking her from the Home where she's in care. Seemingly confident he can outdo the law, Jamie talks of staying in a hotel next breath but one to planning a raid on coin-op laundrettes for some cash.

Subsequent scenes pair him with his younger brother and his daughter, each leaping forward a decade. They're rare, awkward visits. It's easy to see why; from prison to employment and the verge of 40, Lee Ross encapsulates the threat and supplication in Jamie's manner - his smile, the staccato of his silences and brief sentences, with their naïve vocal patterns.

Growing from the dramatist's work in prisons and young offender institutions, Country Music is spot-on authentic, picturing someone wanting to connect with others but foiled whenever he tries. Even his crimes grow from attempts to sort things for others.

Tea's his chosen tipple, though he can't brew a decent cup himself. Repeatedly doling out sweets, trying for a cheery enthusiasm that only emphasises his lack of confidence, he never articulates his need for acceptance.

Finally, time switches back, revealing how the opening came from Jamie's clumsy attempts at helping friends. The action returns to Essex and the brief teenage idyll preceding the opening scene's adrenalin urgency.

The acting's terrific, working through and between the elliptical dialogue, precision-controlled in Gordon Anderson's taut production. Picking out points in a life to imply the overall arc, this play's a tiny Greek tragedy where violent acts are implied rather than described, where inward conflict seeps through the quiet spareness rather than coming in rhetorical overflow. A dramatic nibble by comparison with Stephens' major plays to date (Port and One Minute), it's nourishing none the less.

Jamie Carris: Lee Ross
Lynsey Sergeant: Sally Hawkins
Matty Carris: Calum Callaghan
Emma Carris: Laura Elphinstone

Director: Gordon Anderson
Designer: Soutra Gilmour
Lighting: Charles Balfour
Composer: Julian Swales
Company voice work: Patsy Rodenburg
Assistant director: Steve Marmion

2004-07-09 06:57:06