Theatre
Steve Cramer reflects on PEER GYNT. theatre’s greatest waster. as the Berliner Ensemble brings this new production to the Edinburgh International Festival.
x a xot'tet}. out eapaeil} toi “maxle hax ne\ er been higher. .\x _\oii \xalk the xti'eetx ol I'.dinburgh. or look lIll'illlt'll lIlt' tliiiil'x ill PIC\\ ttllti pertoi‘meix‘ barx. _\oii might lind _\oui'xell iixmg the term ‘\\axted‘ lietiuentl}. and nix no coincidence that the eolloiiuialixm alludex to ont potential. But it people eould do better thingx \\ith a tiiglit. aren‘t a lot ot lit-m \\tt\lL‘tI too',’ .v\x \\ e eoiieentrate on the o\\nerxhip ot propert}. the QIL't'IIIlIlIILIIIlrlI ol eonxuniei' goodx and tlte eonxtant aeipiixition ol unthought abotit xenxual e\pei'ienee. doexii't the iiidi\idualixt ethie make \iaxterx ol' ux all’.’ the xtoi'} of Peer (ii iii. tliotigli l'irxt penned b_\ lbxen \iell mm a eentur} ago. xtill liax xoniething to xa} to iix in thix l't‘\[tL‘L‘l. lbxen'x epie lolk poem. mueli later l'L‘\\l'lllL‘ll ax drama. xeemx to ha\e mueh to xa_\ to ux in thix rexpeet. .-\x a _\oting man. the title eharaeter ix xtrong. eharixmatie. lull ol' potential. Hut he‘x alxo xingtilarh led b_\ inipulxe. xo liix abilitiex are l'rittered a\\a_\ on ximple amiixemeiitx. .-\ttraeti\e. btit unable to formulate xtable relationxhipx \iith an} of the \\ttlllL‘lt in liix lite. not men liix mother. he lea\ ex an aeeumulation ol' broken heartx itt hix \\ake. Ileix a pixx artixt. atid irredeemabl_\ xell'ixh. \\ith little to otter xiieli male lriendx ax he makex. He makex tortunex and \\tl\lL‘\ them. and xeemx iiieapable of reflection tipoii the bigger ixxuex of tile tiiitil it ix too late. the laet that humankind ix a xoeial animal. the idea that we need the l‘olk around tix to trul_\ aehiexe xomething \xorth\\hile meanx little to Peer. ax it ix xo otten loxt on tix iii the 'beeauxe I‘m \\orth it‘ xoeiel}. ’l‘hix produetion. brought to ux b} the might} Berliner linxeinble. hax mueh to reeoniniend it. t'nder Il\ IitIlIIItICI. IfL‘l‘lUIl BICCIII. the Berliner lznxemble \\ ax the inoxt inl'liiential theatre eonipan) of" the leth eentur}. 'l’here‘x been a lot ol \xater under the bridge xinee then. I‘tll tHL‘l‘ lIlL‘ I;l\l LIL‘L‘ttdL‘ lhi\ eompan} hax brought the moxt CUII\I\IL‘IIII_\ high thlttilt) th‘dll'L‘ IU IIIC Illlt‘t‘llttllttlltll I‘iC\li\tlI. PCICI /.adek. no“ 58 and a grand maxter of" \iorld theatre. direetx a produetion that lookx potentith quite different. lior all the bad belta\ iour ot itx eentral eharaeter. /.adek inxixtx upon a detaehmeiit. not judging l’eer. but obxer\ing him. l’erhapx tliix might lead iix to a greater truth than moralixtie eondenination. 'I'he .ieelainied l'\\ e Bohni pla}x the lead in thix
ABILITY
68 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE ' .
DOES ALL OUR SELFISHNESS, POTENTIAL AND
AMOUNT TO A HANDFUL OF
(tenant day
.i' :75"W~+7‘~ . .
"-1 $3,542 {A}, 'tlv‘ .i~
produetion. though \\ e lia\e at leaxt ax mueh to be e\eited about in the return ol' .-\ngela \Viiikler ax .»\axe. I’eei”x long xiil'tei‘itig mother. \ihoxe xaerilieex are not appi'eeiated b_\ l’eer until her death. \Vinkler'x l'eniale l/tlIII/t'l. alxo direeted b_\ /.adek. \kax a memorable eontribution to the I'exti\a| ol Ztltll.
I'inall}. /’r'r'i' (Mill lea\ex ttx \\llIt ati e\ixtential l'ear. l)oex all of our xell'ixhnexx. potential and abilit_\ amount to a handlul ol' duxt. or in thix pla}. a button maker. \\Ittt nioiildx e\er} xoul into the xame trixial xliape'.’ the idea that xome xpirittial reekoning a\\ aitx itx. a item en or hell to reward or punixh iix ix lexx prexalent toda}. but doex not our own eapaeit} to relleet upon \\axted potential amount to a mueh deeper and more tragie iudgement‘.’ 'I'he taet that than} ot our moral relileetionx are xiibieethixed in the modern \\ttl'ItI doexn't mean that \\ e are uniiidged. ()r doex it'.’ See IItl\ [‘iL‘t‘L‘ ttltd deeide Iitll' )tttll‘w‘lli.
Royal Lyceum Theatre, 22-24 Aug, 7pm.
THE FACTOR
Wasted talent is at the centre of Peer Gynt, but who were the real wasters?
George Best Fritter facton 10 GeOrge. as they say, had it all. But the most talented footballer these islands ever produced was absent from too many games. and plastered more often than not. Women? The best you could attract. but who'd stay’? Even Alex has given up. Here's to the Pele of pish!
Orson Welles Fritter factor. 8 Made the greatest film ever produced in Hollywood. and added such classrcs as A . Touch of Evil and The Magnificent Ambersons. but finished up chasrng projects that could never be made. Ended life a fat bastard living rent free with Peter Bogdanowc. clouding up the place with his crgar smoke. The tiber-tatboy! Princess Margaret Fritter factor: 7 Royalty. society beauty. and often touted as the most intelligent royal. A succession of disastrous engagements and wrongheaded marriages later and she became the tabs and voddie princess of Oddbins. A truly Regal (king-size) figure.
David Hookes Fritter factor: 7 Regarded as Australia's greatest young batsman since Bradman in the 708, he hit Tony Greig for five bOundaries in successron in his debut test match. But it was all downhill from there. A complicated private life. the odd xxxx and an informal attitude to discipline saw him in and out of the test team for a decade. Died last year at 49 in a closing time brawl with a nightclub bouncer.
Gary Barlow Fritter factor. 6 He just wants us back for good. The obvious talent of the boyband Take - -- . That. Gary finishes up without a record deal. his welt-crafted pop songs unlistened to. and even subtle attempts at dance records kiboshed. And the crap one from Stoke becomes a megastar. Pray? He'd better.