THE QUEEN AND THE REBELS. To 17 August.

London

THE QUEEN AND THE REBELS
by Ugo Betti, translated by Henry Reed

Acting: the Goat Theatre Company at Union Theatre To 17 August 2002
Tue-Sat 7.30pm
Runs 2hr One interval

TICKETS 020 7261 9876
Review Timothy Ramsden 3 August

A valuable revival, for all its rough surfaces, underneath the arches in Southwark.In the 1990s 'European theatre' tended to mean a production style, heavily interpretative through visual elements, sound and stylised acting. Yet mid-twentieth century, the term implied a play carrying a serious weight of philosophy and/or politics. Whatever this production's limitations it gives a rare opportunity to come into contact with one of the key writers of that scene.

Such plays go neither for subtext, as in Chekhov or Pinter, nor saying the obvious and outrageous in well-turned style, as Coward or Orton. They were caught between a British theatre too lazy to think and one too busy rushing forward in its own radicalism to bother with the weight of old Europe.

Yet this story of revolution and escape has relevance for our asylum-seeking days, one brought by a voice from the inside. The continental forces Britain and America fought were experienced on the Euro-mainland. Betrayal recurs throughout the play.

Argea the village slut with a refined manner is first taken for the Queen, then takes on the royal mantle. Ironically, this pretence brings a new sense of her own identity. Though the Queen she's helped escape is dead, by refusing to betray the royal supporters (whose names she's memorised) she saves them and the Queen's son. The politics are not the point: the play's about truth and betrayal.

It's not a great play – the cast list indicates how many anonymous characters Betti never develops. They're a lorryload of escapees stopped for investigation in a politically unstable time: Argea says she's been forever expelled, repatriated, deported – and searched, ending up in this 'murder factory' rank with the smell of history. The mood's caught by the set: piles of charred books hang overhead and take up the desk with its unused typewriter: words on record are dangerous here.

The acting is basic: meaning is forced and vocal expression often underpowered; facial reactions are simple. But Jodine Throgmartin catches Argea's developing sense of integrity and, through it, self, while the cast usually capture the play's urgency, keeping it from becoming mere musing on identity. And, anyway, who over here has been doing Betti any better?

A Man: Asif Channa
Amos: Karl Chaundy
Orazio: Dermot Dolan
An Engineer: Brett Dolman
A Man: Richie Lenton
A Woman: Lizzie Mansfield
Maupa: Julian Angel Oyesiku
Elisabetta: Zou Stevens
Argia: Jodine Throgmartin
A Woman: Kath Trust-Bick
Raim: Toby H. Wicks
Biante: Gunther Wurges

Director/Adapter: Rob Widdicombe
Designer/Coastume: Paul Duncan, Viviana Rodriguez
Lighting: Matt Haskins
Sound: John Maisey

2002-08-04 10:28:26