VISITING MR GREEN. To 1 March.

Tour.

VISITING MR GREEN
by Jeff Baron.

Tour to 1 March 2008.
Runs 1hr 40min One interval.
Review: Alan Geary: 26 November 2007 at Theatre Royal Nottingham.

Better suited to a studio space, but worth a look all the same.
Written by Jeff Baron and successful all over the world, this two-hander concerns a recently widowed New York Jew, Mr Green (Warren Mitchell), who lives alone, being visited by a young man, Ross, (David Sturzaker) as part of his community service. Seems he, albeit accidentally, almost ran the old man over.

Gradually the mutual antipathy and awkwardness give way to a more complex relationship, well handled by both actors. To say more would be saying too much.

Mitchell, in braces, with trousers almost up to his armpits, is splendidly cantankerous and wilful, even if his accent is more Jewish-London than Jewish-New York-; Sturzaker captures the open-heartedness, hurt and anger of his character, particularly after the break, when we’ve discovered more about him.

What with the rumbles from the dreadful plumbing, the floor strewn with unopened mail, and the empty fridge and food cupboards, it’s a realistic tenement apartment set. A back-projected picture above shows us the exterior with all those fire escapes. Snatches of New York jazz can be heard during scene changes.

You can easily imagine this play as a studio piece: it calls for a smaller, more intimate, venue than Nottingham’s Theatre Royal; the plot, otherwise satisfying, is too slight and too episodic for total enjoyment in a big space. And, initially at least, plot development and character revelation are too slow.

But the play, directed here by Patrick Garland, offers a touching examination of generational difference, the destructiveness of over-legalistic religious observance, the nature of familial love and the consequences of prejudice. And, in the end, it’s life-affirming.

It certainly warrants a look.

Mr Green: Warren Mitchell.
Ross Gardner: David Sturzaker (autumn 2007)/Gideon Turner (spring 2008).

Director: Patrick Garland.
Designer: Sean Cavanagh.
Lighting: Ben Cracknell.
Sound: Peter Cox.

2007-11-27 20:14:19