FAMILY by Tom Kempinski. New End Theatre to 18 November.
London
FAMILY
by Tom Kempinski
New End Theatre To 18 November 2001
Runs 2hr One interval
TICKETS: 020 7794 0022
Review Timothy Ramsden 4 November
Love and honour go cosa nostra in Kempinski's revival of the love v duty debate, receiving a vibrant Hampstead premiere.There's a strong mix of action and debate in this third play of New End's Kempinski season, but it's constrained by two things. The first is the need to follow Le Cid, Corneille's masterpiece of duty and honour in conflict, from 17th century France.
The other is that, in finding a modern equivalent for an hierarchical society where duty and honour are crucial, Kempinski's hit on the Mafia. And it's doubtful we will view godfathers and henchman in quite the divinely ordained radiance as the French saw royal rule around the time of the Sun King.
Sergio is the Cid, mighty warrior (he sees off a rival family) and lover of Maria. Alas, to revenge an insult to his father, Sergio has to bump off his intended's old man. Rivulets of revenge begin to stream through the plot while the head of the family, Don Antonio, tries to play fair in the interests of the organisation.
Ruth Carney's aptly-played production points up the moral dilemmas, while being full of visceral excitement, supported by Edmund Jolliffe's score with its switches between looming masculinity and gentler melodic lines and tones for the earlier women's scenes.
Once again, Nicolai Hart Hansen's set is a triumph in this small space, vertical strips creating a sense of secrecy, red floor tiles taking Sebastian Williams' shafts of red lighting. Lights stream up the set verticals; it's at once confined, eerie and threatening, yet able to create an oasis of calm when needed.
Joanna Marks' Maria expertly charts the character's growing madness, cloaked till the very end by apparent demureness. Demure's the way for a Mafia lady to behave, but it may be taken too far in Angelina, the Don's daughter with her own passion for Sergio. Glacial manipulation is evident in Katie Pattinson's performance, but the passion's too well hidden. Perhaps because Kempinski charts this character less well than others; she often takes up positions but isn't allowed to act on them and there's a plot jump-cut for her in the final scenes.
Sergio: Christian Bradley
Sophia: Viss Elliot
Don Antonio: Richard Heap
Vittorio: Richard Laing
Maria: Joanna Marks
Angelina: Katie Pattinson
Luigi: James Pearse
Umberto: Richard Stacey
Paul: Robert Sterne
Director: Ruth Carney
Designer: Nicolai Hart Hansen
Lighting: Sebastian Williams
Composer: Edmund Jolliffe
2001-11-05 15:26:01