‘MRS ROBINSON IS A VERY BORED, EMPTY WOMAN'
by k-OmerS
Steve Cramer talks to Irene MacDougaIl about Dundee Rep’s upcoming production of THE GRADUATE, and shreds some myths about the 608.
hen we think of the His. it's easy to fall into
glib cliches about flower power and hippy
sensibilities. Quite whether this is the whole story of the second half of the (ills. let alone the decade. is a moot point. But ey en this semi- mythic. media-created historical consciousness of the decade fails to take into account much that happened in the first three or four years of the decade. and it is from this period that the original noyel. and Terry Johnson's stage adaptation of a piece best known for its late (i()s screen ycrsion. is set.
The difference in the periods is subtle yet crucial. and lesser minds than that of Irene .\lacl)ougall might not grasp it. But this actress. an ornament to Dundee Rep‘s ensemble since its inception under llamish (ilen some years ago. and an asset to Scottish theatre generally since long before. deploys an intelligence in her approach to her work that looks bound to pay dividends when she takes on the mighty role of Mrs Robinson.
What‘s notable about Johnson’s adaptation is its more forensic approach to characters. who were giyen a little more charm in the film. llis Benjamin is more of a spoiled and discontented adolescent than the one we might remember Dustin Hoffman for. while his Mrs Robinson. a woman whose potential has been wasted through affluent suburban ennui and a taste for alcohol. is yet more coldly pragmatic.
So performers must resign themselyes to being a little unloyed on stage'.’ ‘()ne has to be quite braye and not actually say to the audience. “I want you to
like me."‘ says .\lacl)ougall. ‘But she‘s quite a wonderful character in many ways. I slight/y wish she wasn‘t so iconic. but hey. there you go. She is what she is and I‘ll be what I am.‘ .-\nd there is. she tells me. it causality to .\lt‘s Robinson‘s bclttlyiotlt‘. ‘Sltc’s always thought of herself as being quite a rebel in many ways. but she’s ended up haying to completely and utterly conform. marrying a husband who doesn't really loye her. because she’s had to. She‘s a Very bored and empty woman.~
The crucial difference between this Version and the popular film. though. is in that historical moment. The parallels between the middle-aged folk of the film. and those of today who. haying matured through the 7()s and b’lls. haye little grasp of the recent anger among young people are striking. MacDougall shows a complex and historically sensitiye understanding of this. '.lust before this play finishes. Jl'K dies and eyery‘thing would change.’ she says. "l‘here‘s just a glimmer of that new consciousness here. The older generation hayen‘t really played a part in the country‘s deyelopment. 'l'hey hayen't taken part in moying the country on in any other way than fiscally. You can imagine them as the kind of people who want to see something they like that entertains them. when they go to the theatre. .\'ot necessarily anything that has the odd swearword
they‘re locked in a bubble.‘ It‘s a bubble that this actress is well able to burst for its.
Dundee Rep, Wed 18 May-Sat 4 Jun
Theatre
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* Laurel and Hardy Stephen McNicoll and Barnaby Power play the comic duo whose lives are explored, while musician Jon Beales provides terrific music and a hand in the ensemble. Tony Cownie’s production paces itself beautifully towards a moving climax. Royal Lyceum. Edinburgh, until Sat 74 May.
>l< In the Bag Wang Xiaoli’s play, here seen in a version by Ronan O’Donnell portrays the lives of four thirty somethings at an emotional turning point. Thought provoking and sometimes very funny. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 21 May
* Sisters, Such Devoted Sisters Russell Barr's monologue about the life of a working class Glaswegian drag queen shifts rapidly from hilarity to raw emotional power in its exploration of a much put-upon sub culture. There's violence and strong language, but it’s a compelling night. Tron, Glasgow, Fri 20 - Sat 21 May it The Graduate Irene MacDougail takes on the role of Mrs Robinson in Terry Johnson's adaptation of a novel which explores the repressions of bourgeois suburbia. its best known version was Mike Nichols film. Dundee Fiep, Wed 18 May - Sat 4 Jun
* An Evening with Queen Victoria Prunella Scales brings her legendary one woman show on the life and times of a woman who defined an age to Edinburgh. Expect biographical drama of high quality from one of the UK's most respected performers. Queen '3 Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 14 May
i\.'.i. .‘ THE LIST 93