22 January 2015
the cambridge student
Theatre
www.tcs.cam.ac.uk
23
Picasso Stole ‘It’s not about the penis’: Beyond nudity in Equus Parker The Mona Lisa Harry Theatre Editor Will Spencer Theatre Reviewer
W
e’ve all had those nightmares where you turn up to a party suddenly to discover that you’re stark naked, and that everyone is staring. Or where you’re on stage, in front of hundreds of people, and the clothes that you were sure you had on before you walked on have suddenly disappeared. Unlike Jonah Hauer-King, however, we are lucky to have the comfort of being able to wake up safe in the knowledge that our public nudity was not, and probably never will be, a reality. Jonah is currently preparing to play Alan Strang in Peter Shaffer’s Equus, a role made infamous by Daniel Radcliffe’s portrayal of the same “I was terrified about it at first, as most people would be” character in 2007. It’s a role which requires full nudity, but both he and last term’s Road and After Miss Julie, director Pete Skidmore are very keen and before that working in theatre and to downplay the importance of it. “It’s film, Jonah is surely one to watch on the just one of those things that you have to Cambridge drama scene. do,” Jonah explains nonchalantly. “I’ve Pete, the director, is keen to move had the time to get my head round it on. “It’s not really a major plot point. and mull it over, but also because I’ve It really helps the show’s visual impact, got to know the play and the character The naked but it’s really not that important. So better. It’s not gratuitous, the nudity; it scene “really yeah, we are trying to move away from makes sense in the context of the play. helps the this idea that it’s all about the horses A lot of people think the reason Alan show’s visual or the violence or the sex, and into gets naked is because he wants to have bringing out the psychological themes, impact, but sex with a horse, which isn’t actually the religious themes, and the themes of it’s not that what happens. ritual and folklore. “I was terrified about it at first, as most important.” “What’s most interesting about the people would be. I will feel exposed. play is this clash between early, preBut it only becomes a reality for me Christian society and modern culture. when I do it in rehearsals and then on We’re bringing in the aesthetics of those the night. I’m very lucky to have this paganistic cultures to really highlight amazing role, and so I have to embrace that clash.” everything that comes with that.” “It makes people feel uneasy when “Lucky” is a characteristic they see these kind of images, which understatement for Jonah, who has had almost parallels what Alan does to plenty of acting experience both in and Dysart [Alan’s psychiatrist]. He plants outside of Cambridge. Appearing in this seed of emotion in Dysart and it
As the opening intertitles make clear, Picasso Stole the Mona Lisa is loosely based on true events. When the Mona Lisa went missing from the Louvre in 1911, poet Guillaume Apollinaire was indicted of having stolen some statuettes, which the corrupt Joseph Géry had pilfered and, purportedly, displayed on Apollinaire’s mantelpiece. Under police pressure, Apollinaire implicated his friend, Pablo Picasso, in the theft. In this farce, written by Jamie Fenton and directed by Rhiannon Shaw, it is the Mona Lisa which Apollinaire and Picasso discover in the former’s apartment. From the outset, contextual comedy is to the fore, jibes about art abounding. The script is consistently funny and clever in equal measure, and it is hard to resist the notion that Fenton, rather than the protagonists, is the true star of the show. It is the cutting dialogue which makes the relationship between Apollinaire and Picasso so watchable, when it might otherwise descend into crassness. Yaseen Kader’s portrayal of Picasso is in particular danger of crossing this boundary. Kader has what should be some of the strongest lines in the play, but many of them are delivered with a lack of nuance, and fall flatter than they should. Haydn Jenkins is more often compelling as Apollinaire. He plays his timorous, somewhat pathetic character with an air of emasculated fragility. In the physical aspects of their performances, however, both Kader and Jenkins succeed. Their naturally languorous dispositions have the wonderfully unsettling effect of making them look like caricatures, while the moments at which the romance between the two almost spills over onto the stage are especially funny. Colin Rothwell’s turn as lumbering policeman Claude is the best. His often ridiculous, lumbering demeanour Hesham Mashhour ensures that the comic potential of his Theatre Reviewer French accent is fulfilled. The respective roles of Elinor Lipman and Will Dalrymple as Madame and Monsieur Olivier are less defined. Dalrymple is particularly absurd, his flamboyant, slightly camp turn as Olivier juxtaposed with moments at which he runs on stage in the guise of various authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald, before promptly disappearing. Ultimately, inventiveness is the play’s principal appeal. That the acting, with the exceptions of Rothwell and Reeve, never quite does justice to the script is mostly not the consequence of poor performances, but testament to the Rose Reade as Tessa excellence of the writing.
Review: LEAN
T
he underrepresentation of male anorexia on stage is perhaps no coincidence. The topic almost always proves too difficult for a thorough portrayal. LEAN, however, gives audiences a brilliant yet truly terrifying performance where it is hard not to remain moved. LEAN’s real power lies in its emotional baggage. Set around a kitchen table, Michael’s (Gabriel Cagan) illness and challenges become apparent by his constant surroundings. Tessa (Rose Reade) returns to save him after a painful divorce and promises not to eat unless he himself eats. The narrative begins to unfold. We later discover from a wasting Tessa that a child was involved, one that “was not four yet.” Photo: Atri Banjeree It was Michael’s neglect that had killed
Photo: Daniel Karaj starts to germinate and that’s what we wanted to do with the audience.” I wonder what Jonah considers to be the biggest challenge in playing Alan. “I think probably it’s making sure that the audience have a sense of compassion for him. He is clearly disturbed, and yet I don’t think the play will necessarily work unless the audience have some sense of sympathy. Which is difficult because he is, in many ways, not very likeable. But I’m hoping that the audience will question how much they do actually sympathise.” Pete and Jonah have some genuinely insightful things to say about the play, and the considered manner in which they talk convinces me that Equus will be a stunning production. And yet, as sad a reflection on our culture as it may be, I still can’t escape the feeling that the biggest draw for the audience won’t be the play’s exploration of psychology. Rather, for now and probably always, the appeal of Equus lies in that scene.
him. Unknowingly, by moving back, Tessa creates room for reconciliation as the couple remedy their differences through their grief for Jack and through their starvation. It is clear that Tessa and Michael still have a romantic attraction. This connection becomes clear as they slowly undress throughout the performance. We are never quite sure whether their romantic attraction is enough to overcome Michael’s eating disorder, but this only adds suspense to an already strong performance. As someone who has suffered from multiple eating disorders I was deeply touched by LEAN. If you choose to attend though, this will be one of the most powerful performances you will see during your time at Cambridge.