FESTIVAL THEATRE | Reviews
THE TRIAL OF JANE FONDA The Hanoi Jane incident comes to the stage ●●●●●
In 1972, when US screen legend Jane Fonda posed on a Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun, opposing the Vietnam War, an American backlash ensued, with Fonda accused of being unpatriotic and a communist. Another silver screen star, Anne Archer explores the aftermath, in this new play directed and written by husband Terry Jastrow. It is 1988, and Fonda is due to shoot a movie with Robert De
Niro in the town of Waterbury, Connecticut, where she has been invited by Reverend John Clarke (John Sackville) to face her toughest audience yet – a small group of Vietnam vets – in his church, attempting to account for her actions. Initially, Fonda is stiff and patronising but it becomes clear it is just bravado. Archer is perfectly cast, her stately beauty a secondary concern: for, far from being a poster-girl peacenik, Fonda's anti-war stance is articulate and informed, stating that she was made a media pawn. It would be easy to portray Jane Fonda's stand for free speech
in purely one-sided terms. Jay Benedict's veteran Archie Bellows, for example, lives up to his name and his friend Tommy Lee Cook (an excellent Greg Patmore) – a jingoistic Republican whose idea of discussion is domination with casual threats and sexist putdowns – is less willing to yield to Fonda's argument. But nothing is so simple: the newsreels show US men with missing limbs and Vietnamese children's bodies piled up.
Fonda's defiance is equal to the men's, and it is Donny
Simpson (Ian Virgo) in his wheelchair who is first to forgive, rising to embrace her. A nuanced, chilling production, augmented by Archer's phenomenal performance, this is sure to provoke debate long after its run. (Lorna Irvine) ■ Assembly Rooms, 0844 693 3008, until 24 Aug (not 11), 4.05 pm, £16 (£13).
BLACK FAGGOT Samoan gay showcase drama ●●●●● THIEF Jean Genet-inspired monologue ●●●●●
Victor Rodger’s powerful two-hander is a high-energy (and, it has to be said, rather overlong) race through Samoan gay culture in New Zealand, from closeted football players to scheming rent boys, desperate teenagers to regretful older men, looking at not only homophobia and abuse, but also relationships, insecurities and pride. Although the play’s targets start off bewilderingly
broad (and fairly superficial as a result), Rodger gradually focuses on key storylines for deeper development, with often touching results – but there’s the nagging feeling that even several of the recurring characters (a camp, cleanliness-obsessed guy, or a Christian teen longing to ‘pray the gay away’, for example) are left worryingly shallow. That said, under Roy Ward’s slick direction, the play
hits you with considerable force, with moments of heartrending pathos and also hilarity in the no-holds- barred, in-your-face sex scenes.
Winston Churchill famously said the British Royal Navy was sustained by three things: 'rum, sodomy and the lash'. It is to just such a sexually dissolute and violent maritime society that we are taken to by Liam Rudden's Thief. A one-man play ‘inspired by’ the writings of the great French writer Jean Genet, it invites us into the dangerous underworld of 'Sailor', a rent boy for whom homosexuality is not so much a sexual orientation as a commercial necessity. The son of a prostitute and a faceless client, he seems predestined to a life on the high seas, living off the sale of his body and the opportunities for larceny that his sexual transactions afford.
Lacing his tales of recent exploits (a ring stolen from a high-ranking naval officer, a narrow escape from an insanely violent sex slaver) with key points from his biography, Matt Robertson's Sailor walks the blurred lines between pain and desire, excitement and death.
What really carries it, though, are the explosive Thief is, in many respects, a very reasonable 50
performances from Iaheto Ah Hi and Beulah Koale, who fill the stage with crackling energy. Go to be swept away by the acting, but don’t expect too much by way of searing insight. (David Kettle) ■ Assembly Roxy, 623 3030, until 25 Aug (not 11), 5.30pm, £11.50–£12.50 (£10.50–£11.50). minutes of theatre. The script is compelling, leaving vivid images imprinted on one's mind. It's just a pity that, given the subject matter, Robertson gives such a curiously clean performance. (Mark Brown) ■ Hill Street Solo Theatre, 226 6522, until 24 Aug (not12), £10 (£8).
VIEWMASTER Intimate and charming poetry and music journey ●●●●●
Upstairs in an attic-like room, hidden away in a forgotten corner of Summerhall, poet Ryan Van Winkle and musician Dan Gorman have made a den. At the start, each audience member (this is a show for one person at a time) is given a short questionnaire before being taken into this tent-like structure to sit on cushions on the floor. After studying the answers Van Winkle picks a suitable ‘journey’ for his guest and we’re off on a trip that incorporates poetry, music and vintage slides viewed through a red retro View-Master. Having someone read poetry to you in this
intimate setting feels undeniably special. In ‘Tulip Time’, Van Winkle transports the listener to a place which may be Amsterdam. There is mention of tulips (of course) and canals but more vividly he evokes memories of small everyday items (‘the table for morning, for flowers, for potato’). ViewMaster lasts only 15 minutes, but it’s a delicious quarter of an hour that feels like you’ve slipped into a quiet oasis. Just don’t get too much of a shock when you emerge back into the bustle of the Fringe. (Gail Tolley) ■ Summerhall, 560 1581, until 24 Aug (not 13, 20), various times, £5 (£4).
82 THE LIST FESTIVAL 7–14 Aug 2014