MESSIAH by Steven Berkoff. Touring
Tour
MESSIAH: SCENES FROM A CRUCIFIXION
by Steven Berkoff
Touring to 24 November 2001
Runs 2hr 25min One interval
Review Hazel Brown 16 October at Poole Arts Centre
Superb ensemble playing combined with a powerful contemporary score make Berkoff's reworking of the story of Christ a theatrical feast.Gone is the comfortable view of Jesus as a mild and gentle saviour; he is played with ferocious intensity by Finbar Lynch as a powerful and dangerous revolutionary, who plans his 'death' on the cross to fulfil prophesies and be acknowledged as the Messiah, thus freeing his people from the yoke of their oppressors. In the mouth of this Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount becomes a political clarion call, and like all politicians he needs his sycophants.
The production is stark in its simplicity: dark shadows lit from above by white spotlights, the only props a pole and a box. The drama therefore relies solely on the consummate skill of the actors including mime, gesture and balletic movements - masterly at all times. Berkoff's play is an electrifying and frightening insight into the minds of those who would change the world and those who attempt to maintain their own positions and the status quo.
The images burn into the brain: the searing agony of death by crucifixion; the callous indifference of the Roman soldiers as they swear, gamble and brawl; Pilate's political whitewashing (played in an ecstasy of villainy by Michael Jenn) and a heartrending portrayal by Julie Riley of the Virgin Mary, cradling her dead son in her arms. Through her tears, she describes the beauty of his conception – when she dreamed God slipped in between her and Joseph and angels fashioned the baby in her womb.
Finally, Cornell John gives a tour de force performance as Satan, holding a mirror to our darkest thoughts.
Steven Berkoff's thought-provoking play is well served by brilliant ensemble acting from the cast of nine actors. The production is punctuated with "freeze-frames" of the action that encapsulate the moment like a photograph and Mark Glentworth's music intensifies the atmosphere of each scene.
2001-10-18 03:31:35