THE ENTERTAINER. To 13 November.
Southampton
THE ENTERTAINER
by John Osborne
Nuffield Theatre To 13 November 2004
Tue-Sat 7.30pm Mat 4pm 13 Nov
Audio-described/BSL Signed 13 Nov 4pm
Runs 2hr 30min Two intervals
TICKETS: 023 8067 1771
Review Hazel Brown 2 November 2004
Interesting characterization invokes sadness rather than rage in timely revival.I have always thought of Archie Rice, The Entertainer of the title, as a gross, angry monster, but Granville Saxton's performance left me with overwhelming feelings of pity and sadness for the character. Instead of disliking him for his overt womanizing and appalling treatment of his wife, Saxton brings out the sorrow and impotence inherent in Archie. The death of his son, at the hands of terrorists, gives the play a keen, modern relevance.
Driven by dreams of stardom and desperate to equal the success of his father, Archie Rice struggles to keep the art of the Music Hall alive. It is 1956 and, against the background of the Suez Crisis, he is struggling to breathe life back into a dead form of theatre by taking on crippling debt, entertaining dwindling seaside audiences with increasingly desperate jokes, and by introducing scantily clad showgirls. At home, his life is no better.
His daughter, Jean, returns home, hiding the fact that her life and engagement are falling apart. Lisa McNaught skillfully suggests the intelligence and burgeoning feminism of a young woman who wants to be free to think and express herself and not have her thoughts stifled and actions thwarted. But, like all the characters, her struggle is proving to be very hard. Billy Rice, Archie's father, is a wonderful curmudgeon and bigot brought brilliantly to life by John Woodvine.
Lynn Farleigh suggests the fragility of Phoebe Rice, who has been totally undermined by the verbally abusive and womanizing Archie, inextricably trapped in the relationship through lack of education and self-confidence as well as by her desperate love. Add into this mix large quantities of gin, Frank, the conscientious objecting son, and the absent Michael, an army sergeant serving in Egypt, and the scene is set for show-downs and disintegration.
Granville Saxton's Archie, instead of snarling at and treating his wife with bitter contempt, suggests a world-weary sorrow in the failure of this relationship. His womanizing is more of a defence mechanism than a weapon and he even manages to suggest a form of tenderness for Phoebe, the woman he probably never loved.
The spare set of a few brown and tatty chairs, table and drinks cabinet suggest the drab days of the 50's and a rich red curtain swishes in front of this set to create the Music Hall scenes. The bowler-hatted David Alcock, aptly sets the scenes with his piano playing in the pit'. This is a timely revival.
Billy Rice: John Woodvine
Jean Rice: Lisa McNaught
Archie Rice: Granville Saxton
Phoebe Rice: Lynn Farleigh
Frank Rice: Adam Farr
Charlie (the pianist): David Alcock
Gorgeous Gladys: Hannah Cowburn/Charlotte Williams
Director: Robin Belfield
Designer: Agnes Treplin
Lighting: Mark Dymock
Composer: John Anderson
2004-11-04 01:35:30