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WIDE SARGASSO SEA Citizens‘ Theatre. Glasgow. until Sat 11 Oct 00.
Whether \.'.e all secretly, tear lunacy. see:n<_; ourselves (:onstantlt on the edge of sanrt‘. rs. l llllltk. a rnoot l)()|lll, Most of us actually, don't wake up in the rnornrng; and \.‘.'onder '.'.’hetl‘er toda\, xvrll he the da\ unher‘ .'.'e suddenly start paddlrnt; Until one oar. What .Jor‘. Popes adaptation of \Jear‘ Rhys}; r'eanprarsal of Jane [we does rs lllitkt? an rntellrgent ; nd ten, hurnar‘. exarnr'ratron o‘ one of the people who actuarlt does have grounds to fear such an event. and the eausalrtres that can read to such a errsrs,
Wher‘ we meet Antronette (Br‘rgrd Xangenr- she rs elearlt, sufferrnt; from the consequences of. at the very least. an unacceptable pattern of helraxreur. But rs tnrs a result of the t‘orrtrer‘rta? rnental rllness other larnrlt. t)! the hahrtuar abuse to uhreh she has neer‘. often rnadvertentit. subjected throughout her :rie'? We hear her stor\ of her t;lt:l£tl!\ rrrrxed parents. their rrerte separate. but eduallx, t'agrrtr dernrses. and her own perseeutron on her Jamaican island norrre as a
84 THE LIST .‘ "6 Oct
‘.'.hrte “mtg/ref, ller set? err‘e" 're' f<;"..r"e .r:::>n a r‘.~::.‘. H'r'. ";tf;l;ttt‘.(t l'rf31t’i!" ‘.'. ,r'a'n tias issues tl‘ ns a'hr... ar‘d .é;. at trest, serrrefwx; .2 a take. dees'it her: il.s :lrsvemar‘, :rt' Hz," rllr‘ess. ar‘d " s re-at::;rrslrrr: .'.r‘.". a oatr am". often enforced tr. ‘.‘.().'Y‘t"‘ A'W' Mgatt. rn a nirrrwtrer of " Ian‘s the rnrtza‘ oassmn of t"e.r relatronsh'r) into r'rLr'..ral
Jon Pope's (voduetrorr arxgl :lesrgn capta'es heti‘ the snartan trtrgalrt. and extraxagant. decadent lieauf. ot the play. '1; to<:at:ons_ tasks so'r‘e rnterestrng duestrer‘s about what the latel (luau:
St rd called ()rrentalrs'“. Is the t?)<(>li(:lt;"‘. et Antronette's mores something the Britsh have rnxe'rted ‘or her. or '5; Britain rtselt the (the-n and de centred place'.‘ the (lt.(?f;ilt)t‘ of sanrtj. too. 't‘rght he "‘rxed trrv art“ etltnzttrt‘. l.".'i‘.ate‘.-:‘:' the "‘ar\. :ruestrons. the. rntrrggue. t‘ut t"ev‘es a talkv‘ :-ss alxxr'. the 7' rst half of this rrrece that hogrs rt tlt)‘.‘.l‘. a fttFe. All the sa'r‘e The ne'tor'r‘anttes are strdr‘tr, and a deed retrsna -att<,“ haf. .'.'r::h
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Boiled Rhys
JULIUS CAESAR Royal Lyceum. Edinburgh. until Sat 18 Oct
Everything changes and nothing changes. In politics, Shakespeare‘s Romans are no different from our current politicians in their pursuit of power beyond all principal. and they're all still willing to dress up the rapacious and bloodthirsty predators‘ building than a contemporary version scramble as a noble pursuit for the good of all. David Mark Thomson's first production as artistic of it. McKee is superb as Antony. bringing a director of the Lyceum catches the contemporaneity of this nicely, as the sharp. modern-suited Charlatans of Rome stride about in what might be modern Westminster.
But here there are shades of grey among the blacks and whites. As Cassius (Kenneth Bryan) persuades Caesar’s (Kern Falconer) friend Brutus they have to do. the two female members of cast. (Gilly Gilchrist) to butcher the leader for - supposedly - the benefit of Rome, we can see a little conscience flickering wanly in the latter‘s mind. So too, the brief appearances of Portia (Meg Fraser) and Calphurnia (Isabella Jarrett) humanise both Brutus and Caesar respectively, showing a domestic side to these otherwise hard power to the evening. The lack of catharsis is still men, and bringing a sense of tragedy which it is hard to feel for the male characters. The bloody assassination itself brings manifestations of inner unease to all and sundry, with the plotters
shaking. smoking and chundering after their deed is done. The decision to spare Caesar‘s protege. Antony (Phil McKee) will lead. of course. to war.
Thomson’s production is ingenious in making its parallels. and if Robert Innes Hopkins‘ design looks. mysteriously. more like an ageing 605 version of the glass and steel of the city
of such architecture. there's plenty to see in front
subtle guile to his rabble-rousing over Caesar's will, and the cast is generally strong. Gilchrist’s journey from uncertain betrayer to monster is cleverly represented. while there's some outstanding support from Malcolm Sheilds and Ian Grieve in a variety of roles. Given how little
particularly Fraser. bring memorable performance to the action.
However it is approached. there is still a certain coldness to this play. its uncertain moral structures giving us little to identify with, but Thomson, by giving us just a flicker of humanity. brings a lot of
apparent at the end of this production. and that, I think. is as it should be, since this is a play that asks more questions about the nature of power than it answers. (Steve Cramer)
mé'a‘mfitm PARTY Touring 00.0
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