Writer/Director: Mark Thomson
Length: 90 minutes
5th-28th August 2011 (currently still in previews.)
The Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh starrts its 2011/12 season with the world premiere of a darkly comic story of faith, existential angst and a flitting holy house appearing in a Glaswegian council estate. Aimless 24 year old slacker Sam's quiet morning is abruptly disturbed when a wall crashes into his living room, one he soon discovers to be part of the mythical flitting holy house in Loreto, believed to be the house in which the Virgin Mary lived. Taking this as a sign (although a sign of what, he can't be sure), Sam ventures out into the world to figure out why this happened to him and what it means for him.
While "Wondrous Flitting" is billed as a dark comedy, it frequently takes steps into a more sentimental tone, one which doesn't always pay off. The play is at its strongest when tackling the sheer absurdity of the situation, and Sam's reactions to it. The varied cast of characters are all played by Liam Brennan and Molly Innes, who display great range and play the hell out of all their roles, even when the writing lets them down. The ragtag group of characters Sam meets on his pilgrimage of sorts, ranging from two smart mouth kids to a psychotic dentist to a philosophical church cleaner, provide several laugh out loud moments but seldom reach the deeper emotions Thomson seems to be striving for, and their contributions to Sam's journey are very hit-or-miss. Brief glimmers of social commentary appear, especially when Sam meets a pair of neds not unlike the people shown on the train-wreck docudrama "The Scheme", but never really come to fruition. While the play itself is rather uneven, with the dialogue occasionally sounding extremely convoluted, the ambiguity of faith is consistent (although I can't imagine how one would present such a topic in a manner other than ambiguously) but the abruptness of the ending may leave many dissatisfied. Thomson's direction is solid, with simple yet effective staging, although the choice of flickering, static-like light to signal every scene change did become grating very quickly. One does wonder, after seeing the preview with the seating on stage, how the play will work when playing to full auditoriums, since it feels more suited to an intimate setting.
The real strength of the play is Grant O'Rourke's performance as Sam. O'Rourke manages to strike a perfect balance between bewilderment and wide-eyed hope, making Sam an amiable and extremely sympathetic hero. A jobless outsider with no real drive, Sam takes the appearance of the wall in his house as the ultimate sign and jumps at the change to change his life, even if he has no idea what he's doing. While he verges precariously close to hammy at points, O'Rourke makes Sam someone who you can't help but want to succeed in his journey for answers, even though it becomes obvious very quickly that there are none and may never be any.
While "Wondrous Flitting" is often very entertaining and is elevated by its trio of wonderful performances, the play itself is a more mixed bag, never quite scaling the ambitious heights Thomson hints at. The production is often very entertaining, but it's a more lightweight one than possibly intended. The Lyceum's new season doesn't quite start with a bang, but the promise is evident.
3/5.
No comments:
Post a Comment