MAN AND BOY. To 27 November.
London
MAN AND BOY
by Terence Rattigan
Duchess Theatre To 16 April 2005
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Runs 2hr 30min One interval
TICKETS: 0870 890 1103
Review: Timothy Ramsden 16 November at Oxford Playhouse
A fine play in an excellent revival.This revival of Rattigan's 1963 drama reveals triumphs of writing, acting and direction - Maria Aitken's production is beautifully controlled, allowing the play to breathe at its own, finely-devised pace.
Though set amid the financial uncertainties of 1934 New York, when Roosevelt was pulling America out of the Depression, the story of a corporate swindler using junk securities and juggling money to swing scalp-saving deals resonates with modern corporate scandals. Yet that's only the start of a journey into personal responsibility.
Gregor Antonescu (G.A. to associates in the brisk world of business and depersonalised relationships) is magnetic in David Suchet's superb performance, looking and sounding as solid as a mountain while he's writhing around disaster. Commanding, calm in triumph and defeat, Suchet presents someone for whom assertion is an art that comes naturally, flinging away anything not on his agenda with a flick of the wrist or a casually dismissive voice.
His son Basil (Ben Silverstone, neat in appearance, yet internally tormented) remains fascinated by a father he admires even while rejecting him, living in a cheap Greenwich Village basement (Simon Higlett provides an aptly crowded, towering set)) under an anglicised name. Yet Gregor despises and exploits the weak-willed son who is unable to commit to marriage with his girlfriend Carol while paralysed by his father's shadow.
Gregor, escaping paparazzi who scent financial scandal, visits Basil with his smooth-operating sidekick Johnson (the smoothly accomplished David Yelland). Manipulating his son in a mix of sexual and financial dealing, subverting a hostile accountant, exploiting the wife he's remodelled as a countess, Antonescu makes his last stand.
Women frame the action. Carol (Jennifer Lee Jellicorse, mixing happiness and distress at her lover's detachment) first seen undressed then taking a (deliciously noisy 1930s) shower, contrasts Emma Ferguson's made-up, made-over Countess, resignedly aware of her husband's multiple infidelities.
But it's the power-broking men, including Colin Stinton's banking boss with a secret that modulates his initial hard approach, who play out the main battles. Rattigan is never joltingly thematic yet makes every word counting towards the play's remorseless forward journey. And this production catches every nuance.
Carol Penn: Jennifer Lee Jellicorse
Basil Anthony: Ben Silverstone
Sven Johnson: David Yelland
Gregor Antonescu: David Suchet
Mark Herris: Colin Stinton
David Beeston: Will Huggins
Countess Antonescu: Emma Ferguson
Director: Maria Aitken
Designer/Costume: Simon Higlett
Lighting: Mick Hughes
Sound/Music: Howard Davidson
2004-11-21 13:39:34