Theatre
The d best ea cold
HOW DO WE WE RATIONALISE OUR MALICE, BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A SOCIETY?
/ a
Dundee Rep’s revival of Durrenmatt’s THE VISIT brings a favourite motivation back to drama. Steve Cramer and director Martin Danziger talk revenge.
‘ nd il‘ you wrong us. shall we not rey'enge'.” Shakespeares Shylock asks a lair enough
question. The desire to rey'enge onesell' for
an injury done is perfectly understandable. ey'en natural. but quite whether it isn't damaging to both
yoursell‘ and the social fabric about you is another
question. It seems a hit sappy to twitter on about l‘orgiy‘eness being the best l‘orm ol' reyenge. when the dark .-\ustralian colloquialism ‘You‘ll keep‘. usually muttered with a sneer. supplants all that New 'l'estamenl cant with an older. more primal and deeply satisfying version. A pleasing thought. and perhaps act. but wherey‘er dialogue is possible. surely discussion is a less stressl'ul solution'.’
Or maybe not. In lireiderich l)urremnatt‘s classic from the 50s an old woman. called (‘larrie in this
Peter .-\rnott Version. has kept a slight close to her
heart for a lifetime. and returning to her hometown as now the richest woman in the world. she attempts to induce the entire population to enact her rey'enge against the man she still detests. Dundee Rep’s production of‘ this bleak comedic tragedy proy'ides audiences with a chance to see a professional \‘L‘I'\IUIT
of a play which. because of its scope and the si/e of
cast. is usually only presented at drama schools.
.-\nd it's not just the base motiye ol' reyenge that's esplored. but rather. how we justify and rationalise our malice. both indiy'idually and as a society. Martin
l)an/iger. director ol‘ the entire ensemble. plus four
other actors for this production. speaks of the dramatic possibilities of so spectacular a rey‘enge. ‘:\t the heart ol‘ it. there‘s a very personal story. but the
92 THE LIST .i—l “ .‘ylnr £035
play sets up (‘larrie as some kind of ayenging angel. She almost issues the town a challenge: “.-\re you still as morally weak as you were when you first forced me out?" What's y'ital is that her act ol~ reyenge is carried out not by hersell'. but the whole tow n.‘
And this itsell' tells its a lot about collectiye responsibility. or irresponsibility when the community concerned is ol‘l'ered a consumer paradise in return l‘or their act. In contemporising the story. l)an/iger and .'\rnott giye the piece what might be a striking reley'ance to modern Britain. ‘\\'e hayc l'ocussed on consumer culture. and the debt culture. bill also this idea that ey'eryone has rights to all-luence. There's a terrible desire to run up debts. where looking like a certain kind ol' person is expensiy'c. but there‘s a short termism in how we go about this. Britain itsell~ is in debt by. what is it. a trillion pounds‘.’ We want rights without responsibilities.‘ says l)an/iger.
.-\re the supposedly pure Values of the community disseminated by our goy‘ernment the blind behind which uglier motiy‘es lurk'.’ The play has much to say on this. ‘So ol‘ten we see in a Blairite Britain a kind of endorsement ol‘ community y'alues which allows people to hide behind terrible things. It‘s like saying sectarianism is part of the Scottish identity. so we don‘t haye to do anything about it. The nastiest things about community haye often been glossed oyer in recent years.' l)anziger says. The subtext of our al‘t‘luent lives is about to be examined.
Dundee Rep, Sat 12 Mar-Sat 2 Apr.
Ilit
THE BEST THEATRE & DANCE
=I< Pyrenees A new play by David Greig will always create a stir of interest. but with Vicky Featherstone directing for Paines Plough, this becomes a must see. The stOry of an amnesiac man finding shelter in a hotel in said mountains, and trying to reconstruct his identity, this piece looks like saying a great deal about the human need to be aware of both self and environment. Tron, Glasgow. Wed 9—Sat 26 Mar.
* The Visit A tale of a lifetimes wait for revenge. as well as the shallow materialism of bourgeois culture. Durrenmatt‘s great stow of a town divided between a local boy and the richest woman in the world who wishes to bring him low is still powerful. Part fairy tale, part social commentary. Martin Danziger's production has the potential to fascinate. Dundee Rep, Sat 72 Mar—Sat 2 Apr.
* Nihon Buyo An ancient Japanese dance form seldom seen in the West. this rare demonstration of Nihon Buyo looks like being a revelation in itself. A wide variety of emotion and experience is encapsulated in its movement rituals in this piece. which occurs under the tutelage of Nisikawa Senzo. Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Mon 14 Mar.
* Beckett 2: The Basement Tapes Andy Arnold directs the existential, poetic and often very funny poetic drama of Beckett in this double bill of Krapp's Last Tape and Rockabye. Featuring Andrew Dallmeyer and Kay Gallie. this night should offer something for Beckett aficionados as well as broader audiences. The Arches, Glasgow, until Sat 19 Mar.
3|: Catherine Diverres French choreographer Diverres is known for the adventurous spirit of her work. Here. a retrospective and reworking of her earlier work, seldom seen by British audiences. is offered in a smorgasbord combination. Tramway, Glasgow, Tue 15 Mar.