TRUE WEST till 22 November
TRUE WEST Sam Shepard
Bristol Old Vic: Tkts: 0117 987 7877 www.bristol-old-vic.co.uk
Runs: 2 hours, one interval, till November 22
Review: Stewart McGill, 10 November 2003
It's jack-pot time with a truly devastating production
This season at the Bristol Old Vic a focus has been placed on family relationships. The Caretaker took audiences into the subliminal world of family bonds in the late 50's whilst David Farr's beautifully surreal Comedy of Errors explored brotherly bonding by questioning the very nature of siblings who am I? it seemed to ask.
It's jackpot time with Wilson Milam's devastating production of Sam Shepard's True West and the reversal of status, ferocious verbal combats and sheer manipulation by Phil Daniels Lee, of brother Austin, Andrew Tiernan.
These two actors hold the stage, mostly alone, for the driving two hours as Shepard tears apart a microcosm of American life, dreams, aspiration and reality. The complexities of living and thriving in California are reduced to two brothers in a condo where the screenwriter Austin is on the verge of a deal with his project. Drunk and wildly decomposing Lee arrives with near catastrophic results.
The accomplishments of this production are shared between first rate cast, superb direction and a set by Dick Bird that looks terrific in its suggestion of a corner of La La Land.
It's achingly funny, ferociously played and a staggering piece of American drama. The period-piece auditorium of Bristol Old Vic's Theatre Royal may initially seem an odd setting for this work but it is accommodated perfectly in the space justifying the Artistic decision to stage classical work of all periods as the core of the new repertoire.
For me the jewel of a superb autumn season when I begin to suspect myself of sycophancy towards the new regime. Boldly the post-Christmas opener is a multimedia reworking by David Farr of Milton's Paradise Lost, produced in collaboration with the National Theatre. The work here deserves the national praise it is receiving and I urge a visit to witness Phil Daniel's and Andrew Tierman's stunning tour de force.
CAST
Lee: Phil Daniels
Austin: Andrew Tierman
Saul Kimmer: Jim Dunk
Mom: Jane Lowe
Director: Wilson Milam
Designer: Dick Bird
Lighting Designer: Neil Austin
Sound Designer: Jason Barnes
Fight Director: Terry King
2003-11-13 10:20:56