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Political theatre packs a punch
CLICK
HERE TO BOOK THEATRE TICKETS
TO THE MOUNTAIN
Theatre Museum
THE hard-line scripts and screenplays of Trevor Griffiths,
author of the celebrated Comedians, have earned the Mancunian
professor much kudos with the British left.
Perhaps best known for attracting the interests of Hollywood
– with Reds with Warren Beattie and more recently Fatherland
by Ken Loach – his scripts has delved deep into the Turin
factory uprisings of the 1920s, Scott’s race to the South
Pole and The Russian Revolution.
Waiting in the wings is his most recent screenplay on the life
and times of the great revolutionary Tom Paine. These are the
Times should not be missed when it opens at the Almeida in 2007.
Griffiths’ commitment has always been to revealing the
real agencies and structures of history. But his art is in depicting
the close encounters, the individuals caught up in an oppressive
history.
In the depths of the Theatre Museum, The Little Theatre Company
has produced three of Griffiths’s plays written 31 years
apart.
The first, Thermidor, which takes its title from the 11th month
of the French revolutionary calendar, tackles the Stalinist
purges in the 1930s. Anya Pakhanova (Imogen Smith) faces interrogation
from the bureaucrat (Alexander Yukhov). Officialdom stifles
ideology as the suspected Trotskyite faces charges of “lack
of vigilance”.
In Apricots, a 1970s couple explore their innermost urges in
a depraved, or honest, 10-minute foray into sexual desire. The
story of a married couple, individuals in their own home, with
only a propensity to masturbate in common, is not for the kids.
Camel Station, written in response to the invasion of Iraq stars
(Fenar Mohammed-Ali) as the 13 year-old Tarik, a practicing
Hakawati, or Arab storyteller.
Despite the warnings of controversy of on-stage sex scenes and
the insight into Russian history, the characters in the first
two plays – both written in 1975 – seemed somewhat
aloof from their lines, lacking the illusion of empathy.
But Camel Station, with its blend of tragic humour and political
relevance, was a real treat. The Iraqi Mohammed-Ali was outstanding,
revelling in his role as storyteller. I won’t spoil his
punch line, but it’s worth the entrance fee alone.
Griffiths’s is an attractive brand of political theatre,
which avoids the pitfalls of a sectarian rant. Recommended.
Until April 23
0207 943 4750
CLICK
HERE TO BOOK THEATRE TICKETS |
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