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Fascinating look at acting ability
AN OAK TREE
Soho Theatre
An Oak Tree is the story of two men brought together by tragedy – a father whose daughter has been killed by a car and the car’s driver, a stage hypnotist.
They meet when the father volunteers for the hypnotist’s show.
Tim Crouch, the author of this play, plays the hypnotist. Andy, the father, is played by a different actor for every performance. They walk on stage having neither seen or read a word of the play until they’re in it.
This offers up an intriguing insight into the world of actors and rehearsals, interpretation and on-the-spot reaction. Every cue is fed to the actor by Crouch.
With minimum stage props, the spotlight is on the actors and their skills.
This may sound gimmicky, but it ensures that the play remains fresh and original with every new interpretation. Every actor makes the play and the character his or her own.
Crouch says: “About an hour before every show, I meet the actor who is playing the father in that particular performance. In many instances it is the first time we have set eyes on each other. I tell them how I will give them everything they need, how we would like them just to be open to what happens.”
The night I saw it, the 6ft 2in, 42-year-old Andy was played by the petite and utterly convincing Sophie Okonedo. Just as Andy lets himself be hypnotised and believes he is suddenly without clothes, so we believe that Okonedo is the grieving father.
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