THE SHADOW OF A BOY. To 29 June.
National Theatre
THE SHADOW OF A BOY
by Gary Owen
Lyttelton Loft To 29 June 2002
Mon-Sat 8pm Mat Thu & Sat 3pm
Runs 1hr 30min No interval
TICKETS 020 7452 3000
Review Timothy Ramsden 25 June
Well-observed character relationships don't quite make a vital play.After his multi-perspective monologue drama Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco Owen was a writer to catch – one who could spit it out with the best about young people, mixing lyricism with authentic youthful energy. Just what's needed for the Lyttelton's Loft experiment in new audience gathering.
But this is only a shadow of that. It has the angle on youth – though with a sympathetic elderly character, the Nanna who looks after 11 year old Luke. The character's beautifully played, with calm understanding by Lynn Hunter. And it has the earlier play's Welsh connection, giving a distinctive flavour to the poetically-conceived dialogue.
Then there's the slow-grow relation between Luke and young Katie, who teases and cajoles him into a kind of friendship through insults and threats over the dreaded, unseen Arthur Morris. Blue Remembered Hills (Dennis Potter's TV play which introduced the idea of adults playing children) has seeped thoroughly into performance style. Catrin Rhys captures the slightly older girl without any overt attempt at 'adult-as-child' acting.
It's a keen, needling performance. Between them, Rhys and Hunter make the contrast between their family backgrounds – Nanna with contempt for Katie's mother using bought cakes, mixed with a vague fear of her family's irreligion. There's a finely played, tautly nervous scene where Katie comes round to Nanna's Godfearing, well-managed household for a meal.
So far, so truthful. But there's someone else in Luke's life; Shadow, an intergalactic imaginary friend. It's in the dimension where little Luke imagines himself judge of the world, reporting to Jo Stone-Fewings' adept, friendly projection of his personality that the writing, and production, don't have the force or reality which Ayckbourn created in his young people's play Invisible Friends.
When is all this happening? Today? Certainly, in the age of comprehensive education. Luke's mission to discover whether the world's worth saving is matched by Katie's nuclear nightmare. AIDS possibly, CO2 emissions likely enough. But nuclear devastation isn't today's playground fear.
This, and a staging which criss-crosses audience segments and diffuses concentration, limit a piece which maintains interest, but lacks the devastating necessity that made Owen's debut so powerful.
Luke: Rob Storr
Katie: Catrin Rhys
Nanna: Lynn Hunter
Shadow: Jo Stone-Fewings
Director: Erica Whyman
Designer: Soutra Gilmour
Lighting: Steve Barnett
Sound: Rich Walsh
Company Voice work: Patsy Rodenburg, Kate Godfrey
2002-07-15 10:50:56