LOSING LOUIS. To 6 or 7 October.
Tour
LOSING LOUIS
by Simon Mendes da Costa.
Borderline Theatre Tour to 7 October 2006.
Runs 1hr 45min One interval.
Review: Thelma Good 21 September.
Geographically-adrift production.
Being a sibling is sometimes difficult. You are close but perhaps not close enough, you care but rivalry is a greater pull. The scraps over toys grow into fights over people and importance.
Anthony (Crawford Logan) and his wife Shelia (Janette Foggo in a costume unfortunately more middle aged slag than middle aged tart) are waiting for Reggie and his wife Elizabeth; there’s a funeral to attend. In the harsh nature of the world the younger man Reggie has got the bigger car, the more classy wife and children who will be able to live independently.
Losing Louis has two time frames woven through it, both performed in the same beige-toned marital bedroom of Bobbie and Louis Ellis. In the 1950s these young parents of Anthony find life and their futures get increasingly complicated when Louis falls for their lodger and student lawyer Bella. This threesome are maybe more frank than most Scots were back then in the 1950s but the characters' raw anguish is well underplayed.
The other time is the present, with Anthony and his wife waiting for Reggie, the younger male he spent a childhood with. Here the rest of the cast also seek out the best in the script and make the most of it. But transposition of the action of the play to a West of Scotland town fights against their best efforts, partly because one of the play’s topics, of being a Jew by birth or adoption, fits better in London or Manchester, or even Glasgow.
The other difficulty is the tenor of the production, lurching between in-your-face farce and acid comedy with a serious undertone, leaving the audience uncertain how to respond. The Scottish Arts Council told Borderline in March 2006 that they were to go on to project funding in 2007 as "the council's rationale is to support artists and Borderline are audience focussed.” It’s unfortunate that this geographically adrift production shows the company less surely-moored than usual at answering Scottish audiences’ need for an entertaining night at the theatre, seeing a broad appeal, well produced play.
Bella Holland: Shonagh Price.
Louis Jordan Ellis: Stephen Duffy.
Tony Ellis: Crawford Logan.
Shelia Ellis: Janette Foggo.
Bobbie Ellis: Anita Vettesse.
Elizabeth Ellis: Bridget McCann.
Reggie Ellis: Roben Cameron.
Director: Brain Pettifer.
Designer: Monika Nisbet.
Lighting: Mike Lancaster.
2006-09-27 10:41:45