Theatre
'What we have here is a failure to communicate', I remember the prison warden saying to Paul Newman halfway through Cool Hand Luke. Indeed, that 1960s exploration into the problems which arise in a community when one individual has a seemingly inpenetrable influence over his contemporaries finds echoes in Mamet's play. In both dramas the notion of communiction or failed attempts at communication arise, and in both cases any hint at resolution is left in the dark until the very last.
Oleanna is a persuasively accurate portrayal of the problems inherent in the assumed power structures of relationships. The play explores the extent to which political
correctness finds a foothold in the power structure of an academic institution, and
the subtly erotic connitations of a male teacher helping and coercing his young female student. Suffocating social differences persist throughout and it is left to the audience to decide whether John
(John Washington) or Carol (Jill Crawford) has the moral high-ground.
Mamet is a superb depicter of the nuiances of verbal violence, and the play is performed with assured aplomb. The directors (Sam Freedman and Ben Morgan) have a firm grasp on their text, and by choosing to stage the play in a traverse setting they should succesfully manipulate The Old Fire Station to their advantage. Crawford's accent has holes in it, and Washington's performance lacks poise at points but on the whole the production is highly capable. You wouldn't be wasting your money.
Christian Barby
To give this a positive review onn the strength of the preview would be a major gamble; the actors were still 'on book' but by contrast to its running mate this play has the safety net of an excellent script. Potentially it could be very good indeed - if you like Harold Pinter - far from a given. Whilst grossly under prepared the cast still exuded a certain confidence in their own performances and in the script; which is something akin to 'talking over the asylum whilst also addressing the typically Pinteresque themes of our inherent insecurity in day to day life. It is familiar and so probably a barker, if you like Pinter, the acting apparently solid and setting intimidatingly claustrophobic.
Andy Bull
As if to show how hard it is to put on anything in 8th week this play has no running mate in the BT late slot. Not only does this indicate the bravery of cast and crew it also means that this is probably the best opportunity to see pre-watershed sex all term. Not, of course, that the scenes of copulation were the plays outstanding feature. Sleeping Around is a series of 12 vignettes by two actors in which one character moves into the next scene to meet someone new, who then moves on to a new scene of their own. It is excellently scripted by a group of four playwrights, and thankfully (surely few things have as much potential to be utterly dire as sex on stage) well acted and directed. Gwyneth Glynn Evans and Rich Hough are both remarkably convincing in some very hard roles - two lovers divided by his contraction of AIDS,for example. As the carousel revolves the audience is presented a treatment of sex which is at once grave and entirely trivial, playful and life changing. It does, of course, have particular resonance given the current revival of the AIDS awareness. The cast have matched their interpretations to these demands well, doing a fine job of appearing as us 'everyday folk'. It is a curiously unsettling experience to have such a barren circle of sexual adventure unravel before you, but one worth enduring. Should you find the idea uncomfortable then you would be missing out on a startlingly original production .
Andy Bull
8th Jun 2001