THE BLUE ROOM, Hare, Swan Worcester, till 23 Feb

Worcester

THE BLUE ROOM: David Hare, adapted from Arthur Schnitzler
The Swan: Tkts 01905 27322
Runs: 2h, one interval, till 23 February 2002
Review: Rod Dungate, 12 February 2002

A bold choice, an intriguing drama, great acting opportunities for the two actorsLife, lust, sex – it drives us, stalks us, tortures us, occasionally fulfils us. At least in our middle years it does. David Hare's THE BLUE ROOM, freely adapted from Arthur Schnitzler's nineteenth century work – and what a scandal it caused – tries to make sense of it all. And fails.

It doesn't fail because Hare's not up to the job, but, I guess, because these things are a human mystery you simply can't make sense of.

By way of trying, though, Hare has written an intriguing play – a neatly linked series of snapshots – that offers great acting opportunities for the two actors.

In each scene characters are caught in the grip of lust, which they frequently talk of as love. But Hare (we) are observers – we do not judge. It is apparent that the women exist to fulfil the men. The men are by turns predatory, vicious, useless and always self-centred. THE BLUE ROOM is not a comfortable play.

Jeffrey Harmer and Yasmin Wilde rise to the challenge. Both actors are at the best when they are at their quietest. In scenes where this happens for both of them at the same time, the politician and his wife, for instance, they create a sense of a real relationship and are truly touching.

Harmer is particularly good in his final scenes as the enigmatic aristo farmer. Two characters describe the sexual magnetism that stems from his stillness (which is in fact his isolation) and Harmer makes this painfully tangible.

Hare is on dangerous ground in the scenes built around the playwright and actor (in this case very much an actress). Hare's attempt at establishing his play as a metaphor for life rather than, in this case, a microcosm of it, is clumsy and the dialogue becomes ploddingly 'meaningful'. Both actors slip into caricature, though the fault is more Hare's than theirs.

Nevertheless, this is an intriguing drama, and a bold choice for Worcester.

Cast:
Jeffrey Harmer
Yasmin Wilde

Director: Kim Greengrass
Design: Dawn Allsopp
Lighting: James Farncombe

2002-02-13 10:16:37