Skip to main content

The Notebook of Trigorin. Dir Ben Crocker. Northcott Theatre, 28th Feb 2008.

The Northcott Theatre Company perform the UK premiere of Tennessee Williams’ 'The Notebook of Trigorin,' a free adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s 'The Seagull' to an almost exclusively white and grey haired audience. Why does Chekhov not appeal to the under 55s, or is it that tragedy appeals only to the worldly wise?

Chekhov’s play about human fragility and the impossibility of people relating to each other in an equal and meaningful way is a depressing premise. However, despite the gloomy subject matter there are touches of intentional comedy.

Mme Arkadina, a successful dramatic actress, clings to her youth and glory, and fears the decline of her powers. She is unable to recognize – or she resists – the talents of her son, Constantine; he has youth, vigour and a passion for writing ... and the whole of life ahead of him. He merely reminds her of her age. Liz Crowther plays a sprightly Arkadina although the choreography has her skipping around the stage at times which is incongruous in its girlishness. This lightness does, however, provide a counterbalance to the almost overwhelming intensity of her son, Constantine (Philip Cumbus).

Each character is tragic and unfulfilled. Constantine loves stage-struck Nina (Rhiann Steele) but she adores the successful writer, Trigorin. Trigorin (James Wallace) loves no-one and, here, the writer is portrayed as the heartless villain of the piece who feels little for any character but merely makes notes which he can work up into stories. He has occasional homosexual encounters, toys with Nina’s affection and has a co-dependant relationship with the older woman, Arkadina, despising her yet needing her hold upon him.

Beyond the main characters, Sorin (David Peart), on whose estate the drama is played out, is Arkadina’s older brother. Stuck in the country, he longs for city life and stimulation but remains frustrated and frail in the countryside. Masha is in love with Constantine – although it is unclear why she is attracted to such a dark character – but she settles for an inferior husband, Medvedenko (Charlie Walker-Wise), so it’s unrequited love all round.

Casting against type can be stimulating to a production but, as this one conforms to the costume and furniture of the period, casting a mixed race actress with glorious curly black hair gets in the way of credibility when playing the daughter of a Russian landowner, however delightfully pretty. As this is a Tennessee Williams adaptation it would have been fun to steep the drama in Southern oppressive heat and languor and, getting the actors to perform using deep South accents would have added depth. Performed in standard English, it lacks Russian mystery whilst retaining Chekhovian gloom.

Costuming is perfect and Kit Surrey has designed an enchanting set made of gauzy painted screens which allow changing light to alter mood from moonlight to daytime. Birdsong and soft light creates lakeside serenity in direct contrast to the dissatisfaction of the characters. Most unpleasant is the callous Doctor Dorn (Vincent Brimble) who is brutally honest, cares nothing for anyone and seeks casual liaisons, but who could be the only character satisfied with his life choices.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

ACCATONE! Dir Piers Paulo Pasolini. 1961

Accatone! (1961) is the first film by director Piers Paulo Pasolini and re-relased as part of a box set of his work. Accatone! features a pitiless, self-serving, manipulative young pimp living in the slums and rubble of Rome, whose lassitude is infectious. Images of his death recur throughout the film and he seems barely living. The exclamation mark in the title may be there to try and wake him up. Pasolini shot the film on the streets, using the people he found there rather than professional actors. The effect is a slow moving realism which casts the viewer as reluctant voyeur; it is impossible to gain any distance from the unrelenting sadism of hollow machismo. Seeing this film fifty years after it was made, the misogyny in this film is deeply disturbing; women are either Madonna, virgin or whore. Accatone says prostitution is ‘a mother’s situation’ which provides the mixed message that it’s selfless and necessary for survival, yet he and his friends view whores as trash; to...

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY. Dir Mike Leigh. 2008

Simple, retarded asthmatic gasps and giggles her way through this nonsensical film from Mike Leigh. 30 year old Poppy’s arrested development is masked by her carer who provides meals and stability. This form of care in the community works well so that Poppy is able to extend her adolescence in this flat-sharing arrangement by climbing into bed with her carer and exhibiting teenage tactile behaviour. Her flatmate is tolerant, even when getting no answers as to where Poppy has been and whether or not she’s ok. To Poppy’s credit she holds down a job. Inconceivably a primary school teacher, she is left in a position of responsibility with young children for long periods without supervision. However, classroom activities are restricted to making masks out of brown paper bags in case anyone thought primary school teaching involved real work. Leigh raises the possibility of serious subject matter when a boy begins to bully others. Without parental involvement, a Socia...

e-Marketing 3

Why bother with social media? Specialize in email marketing, business to business, using mailing lists. email campaigns are: Cost effective, immediate, flexible, interactive, measurable and environmentally friendly. Targetted emails are welcome whereas Spam is a nuisance so it’s important to research your mailing list, discover what the recipients are interested in, either hobbies or products, and narrow down the list so the campaign is more likely to hit interested people – and not be deleted before reading. Some companies opt to supplement email campaigns with occasional high quality postal mailings, ie brochures- their promotional material sending a tangible message of quality and style. This is a sophisticated method. The measurable element includes basic statistics such as how many emails were sent and at what time, then quantifies how many of those were delivered, bounced back, opened, read, how many were ‘clicked through’ to the company website or unsubscribed. Conversio...