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Philistines
by Maxim Gorky
in a new version by Andrew Upton
Director Howard Davies
Designer Bunny Christie
Lighting Designer Neil Austin
Music by Dominic Muldowney
Sound Designer Christopher Shutt
Lyttelton Stage at the National Theatre
South Bank, London SE1
Call +44 (0) 20 7452 3000 Tickets £10 - £39.50
In Repertoire
Running time 2 hrs 50 mins with intermission
Times, They Were A’Changing
The young and brilliant Aleksei Maksimovich Peshkov lived the poor and violent life of the human flotsam and jetsam of whom he wrote. He called himself Maxim Gorky, ‘the bitter one’, and his passionate work was an assault on the inhumanity of the times. It disturbed the Russian establishment enough to warrant the intervention of Chekhov to get his work produced at the Moscow Art Theatre, at no small risk to himself, given that Russian dissidents had a very short life expectancy, as they do under Czar Putin.
Written in the same year as his better known The Lower Depths, in 1902, a censored version of Philistines, under the title The Smug Citizen, was directed by the great Stanilavski. This brought out a reinforced detachment of police and the entire government censorship committee. With mounted Cossacks drawn up in front of the theatre, Stanislavski wrote that ‘you might have thought they were preparing for battle rather than a dress rehearsal’.
This fermenting social environment informing the plays of Gorky, such an intrinsic element of his power, beckons writers from a distance to update and anglicise the quintessential Russian writer in order to make him relevant to present day sensibilities. The process has many pitfalls, but to deal with these, The National Theatre, symbol of London’s establishment, has brought out its dream team of writer/adaptor, Andrew Upton, and director, Howard Davies, to bring to the Lyttelton’s stage their version of the play that launched Gorky’s career. Mr Upton’s incarnation is a triumphant battle between revolutionary and reactionary thought. The production was filled with a healthy dose of what was ultra modern then, the concept of freedom of expression, juxtaposed with conservatism, central heating and vacuum cleaners.
Beautifully lit and designed by Neil Austin and Bunny Christie respectively, with Christopher Shutt’s sound design blending with Dominic Muldowney’s ever superb music, and with writer and director working with confidence, panache and in perfect harmony, this is The National Theatre on top form, and Gorky to be hugely enjoyed.
Part of the fun lies in our being encouraged to think that we are above all that Russian misery now, and can look and laugh at these unfortunates, with the prisons they are either thrown into or build around themselves. Director Davies never allowed sentiment into the room for a moment, thus making resonances with lives today comfortably recognisable. If there is a slight quibble it is that there was a sense of players not wanting to let their moment to shine pass without getting as much out of it as possible. I say slight quibble, because with lines like ‘it is a great pleasure living on this earth, it certainly passes the time’ it would take a lot not to relish Mr Upton’s text.
The imposing ‘Rear Window’ opening scenario gave way to the scene of stasis surrounding the life of Ruth Wilson’s heartbreaking Tanya. This evolved into a constantly entertaining night of family warfare. About the only thing unlikely to change in the end was the tragic Tanya’s sense of her life’s uselessness, and in a performance of nuance, subtlety and occasional fire, Miss Wilson was the embodiment of everyone’s hopes and failures. Phil Davis, as the pocket dictator, Vassily, part Rupert Murdoch, part Archie Bunker, compelling and self parodying, at once pitiless and pitiful, led most impressively. His railing against everything to do with his weak son Pyotr (a miscast Rory Kinnear) was a pleasure to watch.
Duncan Bell as Perchikin, made the most of some glorious one-liners and worked through drunkenness to a worrying level of expertise. A gossamer Justine Mitchell, as Elena, the lodger from upstairs, skipping through the family’s house as if afraid they were contagious, (and maybe they were) belied the strength of her defiance at being rejected as marriage material. Stephanie Jacob as wife, Akulina and Maggie McCarthy as Stepanida, the servant brought a valuable touch of gritty reality to a heightened collection of characters. Through an impenetrable Scots accent, Mark Bonnar appeared to be having quite an emotional time of it as Nil, and Rendah Heywood as friend of Tanya brought a natural and charming simplicity to her Tsvetaeva. The company worked together to a high level of ensemble understanding, and Mr Davies choreographed the flow and temperature of events to perfection.
To experience that rare feeling that I would be happy to see it again was most pleasing, and when asked: ‘What’s good in London at the moment?’ a pleasure to be able to say: Philistines at The National.
Highly Recommended
Saul Reichlin
London correspondent
Talk Theatre in Chicago Podcast
www.ChicagoCritic.com
31 May 2007
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