All entries for Saturday 12 April 2008

Endgame @ Liverpool Everyman Theatre

You may be unaware I'm originally from the Wirral, just outside Liverpool. This weekend I'm having a quick trip home, during which I'm catching up with the family and also seeing two plays in the city. Tonight it's Northern Broadsides' Romeo and Juliet at the Playhouse, but last night was the opening preview of the Everyman's in-house production of Beckett's Endgame.

I'm not a Beckett specialist. Apart from Peter Brook's phenomenal Fragments at Warwick Arts Centre last year, my experience of Beckett is limited to reading various of his plays, including Endgame which I appreciated but loathed on the page. Nevertheless, not least because of the constant conversations that happen when you have a Beckett theatre company working regularly with you, I've become a lot more interested in his work and was very excited to get a chance to see the play on stage.

I'm glad I did, because it was wonderful. Director Lucy Pitman-Wallace created a straight and accessible production that above all else paid tribute to Beckett's craft as a dramatist by not distracting from his text and directions. Listing Beckett as a member of 'The Company' seems odd, yet it was Beckett I was most aware of throughout the performance, the company aiming to aid rather than alter his vision.

The set, designed by Jessica Curtis, was particularly beautiful. A half-destroyed room of bare wooden planks confronted us, the ceiling planks half-caved in and the two dustbins to the rear of the stage almost swamped in a pile of caved in wood. Two long shadows stood permanently etched on the wall and floor, one of the stepladder and one of Hamm's chair, as if the two had stood there for so long that their shadow was permanently etched into the woodwork. The atmosphere was set primarily by Oliver Fenwick's subtle lighting that created a faintly muggy haze in the auditorium, a stifling air that contributed to the relentless monotony that underscored the production.

It was in this setting that Matthew Kelly (yes, 'im off Stars in Their Eyes, but also an Olivier-Award winning actor as recently as 2004, lest we forget!) and his son Matthew Rixon gave impressive performances in the central roles of Hamm and Clov. Whether or not their real-life relationship impacted on their work, their on-stage chemistry worked extremely well: at times funny, at times hostile, at other times almost loving or almost homicidal, but always with the sense of two people who are familiar with each other to the point of distraction. It was not the outside that trapped these two men, but their connection.

Kelly, blind in dark glasses and enthroned in his castored chair, was rivetting as Hamm. His slightly camp and definitely vindictive glee in small cruelties was simultaneously funny and creepy; one felt that, given the opportunity, this Hamm would be quite content as a lecherous old man. Here, frustrated and physically trapped (his efforts to move himself were pitiful in the effort expended for no gain), he took out his annoyance and impotence on everyone within earshot, and yet clearly needed them. This was a deeply insecure old man. His rage came out clearly in one memorable moment, as Clov reported that Nagg was crying (at Nell's death). Hamm's response, "But he's living", was yelled out in a momentary passion of anger, as if bitter that he couldn't experience the love that caused Nagg to weep and taking out his bitterness in a vindictive cry. Later, as the play drew to its close, Kelly moved up a gear with the dialogue - his final speeches into what had become for him a completely empty void were desperately moving, an achingly lonely lament for himself which still refused to recognise his loneliness. The quiet "Good" as each member of the household failed to answer him spoke volumes of his despair.

Rixon, as Clov, was also physically impaired by a pronounced limp that caused him to move in large circular motions around the stage and to stagger left and right as he moved the stepladder. Blinking behind large glasses and speaking in a strong Northern accent, he presented an energetic counterpoint to the static Hamm. His constant threats to leave were meant, but his intentions seemed far beyond his ability to achieve. In the final moments, as he stood silently with hat, coat and bag listening to Hamm's words, it was still left open whether or not he would actually manage to leave. His frustration at his own inability to leave lay behind his attitude for most of the play, a barely-concealed resentment at Hamm that caused him to occasionally boil over into shouting back at his tormentor. More often, though, he spoke quickly and relatively amiably, almost numb to the repetitive nature of his existence. The opening dumbshow was long and deliberate, yet he barely noticed - and his goldfish-like memory for the whereabouts of the stepladder perhaps suggested why his ability to transcend his routine was so impaired.

The play was very funny for much of the time, particularly the first hour. Hamm and Clov's quick back-and-forth was entertaining, and the matter-of-fact way in which they dealt with the issues at stake often drew a laugh from the audience. The humour was added to by Ciaran McIntyre's Nagg, popping up in vest from the bin and falling asleep during Hamm's story. Yet the cast balanced humour and pathos well, with every joke only one step away from tragedy. The real switch came as Clov told Hamm that the painkiller he had repeatedly requested was all gone, and Hamm's scream sounded from the very depths of his soul. This became a moment of completely personal tragedy for Hamm, and from here on in the laughs came far less frequently.

Seeing Endgame was a real revelation to me of how Beckett's writing, often so cold on the page, becomes not just human but full of emotion in performance. This was a strong production that resonated with me in a very real way, touching on the worries that old age, death, loneliness and routine instill in most of us. The performances, direction and design were all excellent, but it was Beckett himself who impressed most. As this was only the first night of the month-long run, it will surely only go from strength to strength.

Peter Kirwan : 12 Apr 2008 17:38 |  Tags: Productions |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem