FLESH WOUND. To 7 June.

London

FLESH WOUND
by Che Walker

Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs To 7 June 2003
Mon-Sat 7.45pm Mat Sat 4pm
Runs 1hr 30min No interval

TICKETS: 020 7565 5000

Review: Timothy Ramsden 28 May

Fathers and sons, trust and love in a violent world: tense urban drama in an immaculate production.Talk about starting bang in the middle of things. As the lights snap up Tamzin Outhwaite's young Deirdra faces across the long strip of Dick Bird's tattily cosy tower-block living-room – suitably, a restricted compartment with four walls and low ceiling - Michael Attwell's burly, older, but no less threatening, Joseph. Their opening scene, he disclaiming ill-intent but gradually taking possession of her flat, while Deirdra stands with a kitchen knife defensively in front of her, is superbly paced in Wilson Milam's production.

Superbly played, too. Attwell's relaxed authority shows the experienced hard-man who can look after himself and take a kicking on the chin meanwhile. Outhwaite's quick, sharp voice, defiance suppressing panic, every bone seeming on edge, her staring, eye-flickering tension, give the first of the status relationships that course through the action.

Final angle to the trio's provided when her bloodstained half-brother Vincent barges in, pursued by the local Mafia family, who he's seriously upset The play's not a comedy-thriller, but it comes pretty close at times. Comedy's always latent; Milam and his cast let it emerge in later scenes. But the plot dovetails neatly with character development, and the absurdities are close enough to life to prevent them undermining the action-plot.

Such apparent contradictions aren't reconciled haphazardly – that's what the play's about. Walker manoeuvres us through changing perspectives on what his men are up to: as she says, Deirdra's the normal one. This idea of 'normality' is key; just as the violence, lies and vituperation go with a longing - unrealised till the end, where comedy and gradually approaching threat allow sentiment to emerge without sentimentality striking.

Milam captures – searches out – every mood the script offers: the long twilight scene, visibility fading as father and son overcome violent suspicion and almost find trust until long past the moment new suspicion might arise, is pin-drop taut. And Outhwaite, re-entering with energy and bringing light, forcefully asserts a human moral sense in a grittily focused performance.

There are starrier, longer – certainly costlier – shows around London. But I doubt there's a better. Enhancing the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs' exemplary recent track record, here's a play that defies its title: Flesh Wound cuts deep.

Deirdra: Tamzin Outhwaite
Joseph: Michael Attwell
Vincent: Andrew Tiernan

Director: Wilson Milam
Designer: Dick Bird
Lighting: Neil Austin
Sound: Ian Dickinson
Fight arranger: Tamzin M. Outhwaite
Company voice work: Patsy Rodenburg

2003-05-29 10:38:31