Kindertransport - Theatro Technis

Statue commemorating the children of the Kindertransport

I'm sorry for my lack of posting of late. I'm sure my followers have been perturbed by my absence, and I'm sorry to have disappointed the two of you. I know I said my next review would be of Timon of Athens but I'm afraid that ship has sailed. Too much time has elapsed. It was a well-performed play but not one of my favourites.

Kindertransport by Diane Samuels is an incredibly powerful, haunting, thought-provoking play, sensitively performed by the Tower Theatre Company. It tells the story of nine-year-old Eva, a Jewish girl who travels from Germany to Britain via the Kindertransport in 1938, leaving behind her beloved parents.

Based on real life experiences, the play added a new dimension to the way I'd always thought about the Kindertransport (the programme introduced by the British government in 1938 to give (mostly) Jewish children in Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland safe passage to the UK). My past thoughts about it had been predominantly rosy: how fortunate the children had been to have managed to avoid further persecution by getting out of increasingly anti-Semitic countries before the outbreak of war, and how wonderful it was that British people had been willing to take them in. Of course I knew it must have been terrible and psychologically scarring for the children to have had to leave their parents, but that paled in comparison to the horrors they would almost certainly have faced had they stayed - horrors that most of their parents did end up experiencing. The Kindertransport saved the lives of thousands of children, and it is important to celebrate that.

However, Kindertransport effectively shows the true complexity of the situation; that while the Kindertransport children were 'lucky', even those children placed with loving foster parents were not immune from complicated, severe, adverse psychological reactions from the experience - the ramifications of which would reverberate through generations. Set in 1938-1947 and the 1980s, switching seamlessly between time periods, Kindertransport deals with issues of identity and the loss thereof, and the harm and devastation that can come about through actions carried out with the best of intentions.

Eva was played engagingly and convincingly by Katrin Larissa Kasper - a difficult part involving the ability to speak German and portraying a character over the course of eight or nine years. At times, the actions of the characters Evelyn (Ruth Sullivan) and foster mother Lil (Amanda Waggott) made me angry and uncomfortable. When I first heard the play as a radio adaptation, I struggled to sympathise with Evelyn at all. But actually seeing Kindertransport made me see her in a more sympathetic light. All the female protagonists are sympathetic characters, trying to make the best choices in intensely difficult circumstances, and credit goes to the actors for evoking such strong feelings of sympathy and anger.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin 'Ratcatcher' figure lurking in the background and physically manifesting itself in the form of several grotesquely masked men (Paul Willcocks), all behaving in ways that Eva perceives as threatening, added an extra layer of sinister-ness, and gave one more of an understanding of Evelyn. The use of piano strings for the music was effective in a poignant and sinister way. Attention given to costumes and props was meticulous, as is customary for the Tower Theatre Company.

Kindertransport will be performed again by the Tower Theatre Company at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, on Saturday 24th - Sunday 25th June and Tuesday 27th June - Sunday 2nd July. I strongly recommend it!

photo credit: FarzanaL Kindertransport via photopin (license)

Next: Hopefully something equally good

Othello - Bridewell Theatre

Tower Theatre company's image

This was my first experience of Othello in any form. I'd never even read it before. Not good for an ex-English student, I know. The Tower Theatre Company's compelling production proved an excellent introduction to the play.

The transformation of Othello (Ray Johnson) from sympathetic, loving bridegroom (albeit not without problems: prejudice and the disapproval of his father-in-law) to desperate, vengeful maniac was plausible and disquieting. The plausibility of his descent into jealousy was aided by Martin Maynard's believable performance as the manipulative Iago. Iago was played in a subtle, understated way, certainly not as a stereotypical villain. He came across an an 'ordinary bloke' who happened to be a sociopath. Which is how most male sociopaths probably come across, hence why it is difficult to identify them.

Amy Wackett was sympathetic as the innocent Desdemona and I really enjoyed Emily Carmichael's performance as the put-upon Emilia, wife of Iago. The development of Emilia's relationships with Iago and Desdemona were interesting to watch. It was a relief when Emilia defended Desdemona.

This was a very physical production with kisses, extended fights, bum slaps, stabbing, (spoiler alert) smothering, strangling...It was all performed to an impressive standard. Incidentally, Othello's physical manifestations of torment were uncomfortably reminiscent of my mental state towards the end of my last job but one.

Every part was well-played; one felt that even the unnamed characters had definite personalities and stories. I enjoyed the relationship between the messenger (Mai Le Dinh) and soldier (Ken Thomson) - was it a burgeoning romance? I also liked the serious, slightly pompous military attache (Nicolas Holzapfel).

The set was minimal, with three 'levels' and a basic 'house' with doors facing the audience on the second level. It had a metallic, forbidding feel to it, which suited the atmosphere of foreboding. The costumes worked well; while it was a 'modern dress' production they weren't strongly tied to any particular era and were different enough from contemporary fashions to allow one to easily imagine the action taking place in an alternative universe*. The costume colours tended to be dark and muted and were very well co-ordinated, particularly in the women's outfits. I loved Desdemona's purple get-ups. Even the shoes matched!

The use of mobile phones and iPads was innovative and amusing. A ringtone is heard. 'What trumpet is that?' Iago checks his mobile. It was all done in a suitably subtle way; there was no shoehorning of modern accoutrements or references.

My only 'criticism', if you can call it that, is that I would've liked to have seen more evidence of the fact that this was taking place in hot climes. I think more suggestion of the heat would have added to the atmosphere of tension.

*With the slight exception of the John-Travolta-in-Saturday-Night-Fever outfit that appeared in the second half.

Next: Not sure. I know I said I was expecting a Pride & Prejudice review...well, I'm not sure whether that's ever coming. Sometimes, like many of the characters in Othello, you just can't have what you want or expect.

The Turn of the Screw - Upstairs at the Gatehouse

Upstairs at the Gatehouse theatre

I wasn't able to see The Hampstead Players' Richard II last week, unfortunately, due to unavoidable job-related circumstances. However, I made up for it by seeing the Tower Theatre Company's The Turn of the Screw twice! It was performed at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, which, like most places in Highgate, is apparently haunted. The intimate, hot, slightly oppressive space of Upstairs at the Gatehouse was the perfect setting for a summer ghost story and psychological drama.

Set at the turn of the century, The Turn of the Screw is the story of a young governess who obtains a post at the country estate of Bly, where she is to look after two orphaned children, Miles and Flora Havelock. Full of good intentions, she quickly grows unsettled when she learns more about the former inhabitants of the house, namely the governess, Miss Jessell, and valet, Peter Quint. Who are DEAD! But who may or may not remain as ghosts, with whom the children may or may not interact. 

The attention to detail in this production was extraordinary. If you have read any other reviews in this blog you will know what a sucker I am for lavish sets and minutiae; I was all over the sets and props here. The main set comprised a door, bookcase and large window with long curtains. A translucent white curtain was periodically drawn across the above for scenes taking place outside the house. Most of the ghosts' appearances took place behind the translucent curtain or the window. The lighting on the ghosts' faces was used to great effect, rendering Miss Jessell's face skull-like and Peter Quint's craggy and unhinged. Things that particularly impressed me included the following:

• The stagehands were all dressed in servants' garb of the period rather than the traditional stagehand clothing of anything black.
• The letter from Miles' headmaster had a school crest on it! Which I could see through the paper, as well as the word 'School' in copperplate print!
• The old-fashioned, completely authentic-looking schoolroom desks.
• When the Governess and the children came in from the rain, they were actually wet.
• The bookcase that folded down into a life-sized wooden bed.

Emily Carmichael was excellent as the nameless Governess, believably turning from a determined, idealistic, self-controlled young woman into an obsessive nervous wreck (still determined, though). It was an extremely intense part and she remained focussed and engaging right up until her final scream. Miles and Flora (Isaac and Eliza Insley) were also very well played. They looked perfect for their roles - Miles really did look angelic - and they had an endearing, realistic sibling rapport, which perhaps wasn't surprising given that they were siblings in real life. Miles was properly precocious and creepy but also sympathetic, and did the best pretend piano playing I have ever seen. Flora's character was more fleshed-out than in the 2009 BBC adaptation of The Turn of the Screw (my only previous exposure to TTotS). She had an interesting personality of her own rather than just serving as the more innocent adjunct of Miles. They both had quite a few funny lines.

My favourite scene was Miles and Flora's show, which they performed in front of the Governess and Mrs Grose (Alison Liney). It was sweet and amusing but had menacing undertones. My second favourite scene was that in which Peter Quint (Nicolas Holzapfel) unexpectedly appeared in the Governess' bed, eliciting gasps and squeals from the audience, after having behaved amorously with Miss Jessell (Nina Tolleret) outside the window.

The only slightly weak element of the play was the Governess' alleged attraction to the Master (i.e. her employer, the children's uncle), Mr Sackville (Martin South). Given how much older he was than her, it just didn't seem plausible to me that she would have fancied him - especially after only one meeting - even if she was naive and inexperienced.

The piano music between scenes suited the tense atmosphere perfectly.

Next: Richard II (Globe version)

Travesties - Bridewell Theatre

Me watching Travesties

'Travesties! When the feeling's gone and you can't go on, it's Travesties! When the morning cries and you don't know why...' The last Tom Stoppard play I saw was Arcadia, about fifteen years ago, which I didn't enjoy on the grounds of it being pretentious and difficult to follow. I was concerned I would have a similar reaction to Travesties when I read the blurb on its advertising leaflet: 'With all the pithy wit of Joyce and the literary virtuosity of Wilde, the political rigour of Dada and the absurdity of Lenin - Travesties is a whirlwind tour through politics, art and really great trousers. While the Great War rages across Europe, Zurich in 1917 is a battlefield of ideas and ideals. [...]' 

Anything that has the words 'Joyce', 'literary virtuosity', 'Dada' and 'battlefield of ideas and ideals' in its description has GOT to be pretentious, right?

Well, not necessarily, but this play certainly was.

I liked its basic concept: elderly man called Henry Carr (performed here by a Bruce Forsyth lookalike) reminisces about his younger days when he lived in Zurich, and the influential people he met. As he reminisces we see his reminiscences played out. However, his memories are faulty and sometimes confused, and there are times when the same basic memory is played out more than once but in slightly different ways. An interesting concept. The people with whom Carr interacts are James Joyce, Tristan Tzara (a founder of Dadaism) and Lenin. Carr played the part of Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest while in Zurich and his memories are closely intertwined with this play.

The thing that annoyed me about Travesties - and Arcadia, too, as far as I remember - is that one's enjoyment of it depended almost entirely on whether one understood its myriad of social, political and literary references. In this case you had to have a reasonably intimate knowledge of The Importance of Being Earnest in order to understand half the script. Fortunately I happened to have seen TIoBE and listened to a radio adaptation of it recently [smug look] so I think I scraped a pass on that score. However, in order to wring the most enjoyment out of this play you would also have to have a good knowledge of Joyce, Ulysses, Dadaism, contemporary Russian politics...and probably a load of other things that I'm too goshdarned pig ignorant to even be aware of. Confession: I'd never heard of Tzara before seeing this play and it wasn't until the second half that I realised he was based on a real person, like Joyce and Lenin (yes, I had heard of them [wipes brow]).

There were some parts that I found amusing, such as Carr's love of clothes even while fighting in WW1, but didn't find anything laugh-out-loud funny.

My dislike of the play aside, Travesties was performed admirably by the Tower Theatre Company, a well-known amateur group. It wasn't an easy play to perform, requiring a good sense of rhythm, especially in the poetry scenes. Now I have a better knowledge of some of the characters I'm impressed by how well the actors copied their appearances. The costumes were great, hairstyles impressive. The set was excellent. It was good to see consecutive sets containing divans!

Next: I don't know. Nothing by Tom Stoppard, though. For another fifteen years.