BIZARRE DARK SATIRE FINALLY DELIVERS THE GOODS |
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) by DBC Pierre adapted by Tanya Ronder Directors: Willem Wassenaar and Sophie Roberts LONG CLOUD YOUTH THEATRE at Downstage Theatre, Wellington From 4 Feb 2010 to 13 Feb 2010 [2hrs 45 mins, incl. interval] Reviewed by John Smythe, 5 Feb 2010 |
It would be comforting to write off DBC Pierre’s Man Booker Prize-winning satire, boldly adapted for the stage by Tanya Ronder, as a paranoid fantasy, especially given the drug abuse history of ‘Pierre’ (a nom-de-plume: DBC stands for Dirty But Clean). But ‘reality’ television proves how bizarre actual Americans can be, especially in the southern states, and as this story unfolds what initially seems far-fetched takes on an unnerving sense of authenticity.
Trumpeted as the first production to bring a youthful cast (of 21) to the 51 roles (played by 9 adult actors in the original Young Vic production), Long Cloud Youth Theatre commit whole-heartedly to the high-energy caricaturing the script demands, lampooning their peers with the same glee as they send up the ‘olds’.
The inciting incident, powerfully evoked in Thomas Press’s excellent sound design, is a High School massacre. Vernon Gregory Little’s best friend, Jesus (pronounced in the Mexican fashion: Hjayzu) has shot 16 classmates and then himself. Aside from the stillness of Vernon centre-stage, nothing is scripted or enacted to register the enormity of this; we need to sense the vacuum this society abhors. Only once does Vernon express something like horror and grief when his Mom refers to two of the deceased as if they were still alive, and it has a strong, if brief, impact.
Anthony Young is superb in the title role, commanding our empathy as events unfold, twist and inexorably trap him in a web of scapegoating, deceit, self-interest, treachery and appallingly casual injustice.
We are seeing what happens through Vernon’s 16-17 year-old eyes, so he is the sane centre of a world that is crazy, corrupt and perverted: first manifested in the Sherriff and his deputy – grotesquely embodied by Jack Buchanan and Tai Berdinner-Blades – who come sniffing for someone they can bring to spectacular justice, since the prime perpetrator is inconveniently dead.
Not that Vernon is just a helpless victim of some bizarre conspiracy. There is something he is loath to mention, although his sassy Mom (Anna Harcourt) is somewhat obsessed with his “condition” when she is not trying to sell her “joy cakes” or preoccupied with her need for a new refrigerator. What seems like scatological humour at the time has an excellent pay-off.
It’s when super-plausible roving reporter Lally (Richard Osborne) arrives, that the power of the media – of the commercial networks’ hunger for news stories and the deep desire of the average American to appear on tv – injects the viral toxins for which there is no known cure. Lally’s desire to crack it with his own show becomes the prime driving force.
Sex and drugs take their toll as well, as well-known country and blues songs, usually sung live by the company (musical directors Jack Buchanan and Richard Osborne), punctuate and add flavour to the action.
Taylor (Vanessa Cullen) is the unattainable holy grail of supposed sex-appeal, and what turns out to turn her on is one of the more sobering insights the play has to offer. Meanwhile Vernon is harassed by the young and inquisitive Ella (Freya Sadgrove) until he makes a break for it over the boarder to Mexico, where the people are equally over the top but not as insidiously dangerous.
The remaining roles, cameos and recurring bit parts are vividly delineated by Joe Dekkers-Reihana, Ben Crawford, Felix Borthwick, Hayden Frost, Michael Boyes, Isabelle Stewart, Ingrid Saker, Michelle Ny, Tim Macdonald, Nathan Mudge, Corine Knorr, Betty Chung, Michael van Echten and Fran Olds. And everyone adopts the southern accent with remarkable ease.
Their emphatic costumes are designed by Andrew Foster, whose simple but versatile setting – empanelled with Texan and Mexican place names and furnished with beer crates – is obtrusively lit by Glenn Ashworth, mostly from a low-slung grid that declares the theatricality of it all.
Under the challenging guidance of directors Willem Wassenaar and Sophie Roberts, the outrageous becomes more and more credible, and the high-energy performances gain a centeredness that compels us to see the outcome as real.
The death row sequence especially brings a stark, dark truth to proceedings, allowing for greater substance when an inmate called Lasalle (Borthwick) responds to Vernon’s need to face his God: “God? You think a caring intelligence would wipe out babies from hunger? Watch decent folk scream, burn and bleed every second of the night and day? That ain't no God, that's just people.” After railing at “the market for promises that needs us to need”, where “God gave his name to dollar bills and got out of town” (or words to that effect), Lasalle tells Vernon, “You are God.” Hence the title.
Meanwhile the media frenzy has escalated into a Survivor-style popular vote spectacular with networks competing for screening rights … The 21st century equivalent of public executions in the town square. The more things change …
It’s a long but well-paced production, full of sound, fury and dark comedy that finally delivers the goods, not least with a well-crafted twist that ensures we don’t leave the theatre bereft of hope. While Vernon God Little has been validly described as the new generation’s Catcher in the Rye, its broad satirical theatricality also recalls Dario Fo.
It is wonderful to have a highly trained youth theatre company playing at Downstage again. Long Cloud has become a vital energy source in Wellington’s vibrant theatre scene.
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See also reviews by:
Laurie Atkinson (The Dominion Post);
Uther Dean (Salient);
Lynn Freeman (Capital Times);
Comments
| Anna Harcourt | posted 7 Feb 2010, 05:52 PM |
Hi John, thanks for your review. However, you did miss out one crucial element: Fran Olds is also a member of our cast |
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| Willem Wassenaar | posted 7 Feb 2010, 06:31 PM |
Not John's fault, because she was not listed in the program. But the amazing Fran Olds is playing the roles of Leona and Heavy! |
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| Editor | posted 7 Feb 2010, 07:05 PM |
All fixed now |
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| Sunny Amey | posted 9 Feb 2010, 11:13 AM / edited 10 Feb 2010, 09:56 AM |
A devoted group of young enthusiasts on a misguided tour de forcing. Their energy was beguiling as through the hoops they went, far too many times.
Anthony Young as Vernon was exceptional. |
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| Nathan Mudge | posted 12 Feb 2010, 12:33 AM |
Thanks for the awesome review. Glad you enjoyed the show :). |