GOD IN RUINS. To 5 January.
London.
GOD IN RUINS
by Anthony Nielson
Soho Theatre To 5 January 2008.
Mon – Sat 7.30pm Mat Sat 4pm.
Runs 1hr 30min No interval.
TICKETS: 0870 429 6883.
www.sohotheatre.com
Review: Harriet Davis 7 December .
Filthy Yuletide fun.
The RSC presents yet another deconstruction of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this time from risqué writer and director Anthony Nielson. The opening sees Scrooge three years after his self-realisation; he is now unrelentingly cheery, yet woefully unable to judge the mood of others (namely Bob Cratchit). Cratchit is at breaking point, no longer willing to spend Christmas with the man who effectively emasculated him (after all it was Scrooge, rather than Cratchit, who saved the life of Tiny Tim).
We whisk forward to 2007, where the wretched creator of such televisual gems as Chimp Monastery and Pimp My Pooch, is suffering an alcohol-fuelled breakdown. TV Exec Brian Wilkins (played with real verve by Brian Doherty) is desperately trying to contact his estranged daughter, but is blocked at every turn by his ex-wife.
It’s difficult to sympathize with Brian; quite apart from his drink and drug orgies (colourfully played out onstage to the strains of Let It Snow) Brian treats everyone he knows abominably. He is rude to his neighbours, abusive to his friends, and spends his spare time posing as his former wife on a sex website. He tells terrible, on-the-edge jokes, and constantly makes excuses for himself.
Luckily, Doherty is magnetic, and depicts Brian with such an air of desperation that we cannot help but pity him. The rest of the cast are similarly excellent. Brain’s father – blessed with the same devil-may-care recklessness – is a fantastic creation; a ghost that is haunted by various ex-lovers. A trawl through Brian’s subconscious reveals both humiliation and regret, but - aided by his deceased father and the aforementioned Scrooge – Brian may yet pull through.
Nielson is characteristically extreme in his approach; the jokes are filthy, as are the allusions to sex. The play is also rather messy; with several unnecessary characters, and a confused denouement in which Brian is (inexplicably) attacked by an unknown. Despite this, there is an overriding energy to the chaos, and for all its faults, it is very funny. While certainly not to everyone’s tastes, this is brave, of-the-moment stuff.
Young Jude/Andy/Jude: Jude Akuwudike.
Pizza Delivery Man: Richard Atwill.
Brian’s Father: Sam Cox.
Brian Wilkins: Brian Doherty.
Brian Jr./Homeless Man: Ryan Gage.
Manni: Emmanuel Ighodaro.
Scrooge: Sean Kearns.
Jason/Porter: Jason Nwoga.
Bob Cratchit/Shauna: Patrick O’Kane.
Mark/Voice Of Internet Chat Man: Mark Theodore.
Joel, Brian’s Business Partner: Joel Trill.
Director: Anthony Nielson.
Designer: Hayley Grindle.
Lighting: Chahine Yavroyan.
Sound/Music: Nick Powell.
2007-12-10 02:09:14