WORDS OF HONOUR To 3 October.
London.
WORDS OF HONOUR: The Mafia Exposed
by Attilio Bolzoni. Adapted by Marco Gambino and Manuela Ruggiero.
Jermyn Street Theatre 16b Jermyn Street SW1Y 6ST To 3 October 2009.
Mon to Sat 8:45pm. Mat Sat 4.45pm.
Runs 50min No interval.
TICKETS: 0207 287 2875.
www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk
Review: Geoff Ambler 2 October 2009.
An intriguing journey into the world of the Cosa Nostra.
In Palermo, Scicily, we learn, one hundred people are murdered every year. An affluent city of culture, it is tearing itself apart, thanks to these ‘Men of Honour’, the Mafiosi. Words of Honour is an all too brief but still immensely enthralling series of stories. Marco Gambino and Patrizia Bollini inhabit various guises such as a mafia widow who dreams of avenging her husband’s murder; pentito Tommaso Buscetta who, after a life embroiled in their machinations and murders, assisted the magistrates in the maxi-trials of the 80’s. Being a magistrate at the time was as dangerous as being a pentito and a litany of the murdered ones follows.
The piece is filled with views from the inside of one of the most secretive criminal organisations, glimpses that shock yet entice towards further research. A nearby musical in London jokes about one of the star’s links with the mob; here we learn the shocking truth. An organisation that values honour, family, loyalty is illuminated in rich colours and ghoulish humour, ‘Men of Honour’ kiss when they meet, one insisted on feeding a victim before murdering them; it takes fifty litres of acid to dissolve a body so only the teeth would be left.
Animated projections enhance Bollini and Gambino’s portrayals, although the revelations and recounted interviews are far more compulsive and the performance would stand many more of them. A truly compelling production filled with vivid characters.
Cast: Marco Gambino, Patrizia Bollin.
Director: Manuela Ruggiero.
Designer: Cherry Truluck.
Video: Gabriel Zagni.
Music: Sussan Deyhim and Richard Horovit
2009-10-06 16:56:56