Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at The Novello Theatre
Debbie Allen updates this classic Tennessee Williams’ play with an all black cast and a 1980s setting. The casting is superb, the set sleek and the pace quick but is the 1980s theme strong enough to accommodate the all black cast in a play so rooted in 1950s deep South America?
The production is set on a cotton plantation in the Mississippi Delta, owned by a wealthy black family. The future of the 28,000-acre estate is at stake due to the illness of Big Daddy, the patriarch of this complicated family. What ensues is a battle for the inheritance as well as an incite into the complexity of familial relationships.
Set in real time over the course of one late afternoon, the action does not move from the bedroom of Brick, the eldest of Big Daddy’s two sons. This keeps the tension bubbling and the energy high maintaining the audience’s attention throughout.
Brick and Maggie
Set in three acts Cat on a Hot Tin Roof centres on the relationship between Brick and his wife Maggie. The opening act introduces us to the hostility and history of their childless marriage in a script that is rich with hints, subtly leaving clues for an inquisitive audience to piece together why and where their relationship had disintegrated.
Sanaa Lathan as the faded Sothern belle, Maggie, does well to embody a woman determined not to give up on her marriage whilst desperately hurt that the sexual lust the couple once had for each other has disappeared. Much of the first act is Maggie soliloquising to Brick, who rarely listens. Lathan finds hidden humour in this hefty piece of dialogue and exudes the sexiness that Brick is blind to, but she speaks far too quickly at times making her inaudible in parts.
Adrian Lester playing Brick conveys his resistance to his wife and his indifference to the family estate well but offers little range in his emotions. This is partly due to the writing as it demands Brick be moody and uncommunicative throughout, leaving little potential for an actor to experiment with.
Disabled by his broken foot after attempting hurdles in the middle of the night whilst drunk, Brick spends most of the play hopping around the stage. His crutch contributing to his lack of masculinity castrates him; a perfect image for a failed sportsman; a victim of the all American sports star dream.
Despite his injury and his physical incapacity Maggie has no sympathy for her husband, determined that his “laws of silence don’t work” anymore. Whenever his wife confronts him, he hops to the bar that is downstage left highlighting the dominance of alcohol in his life.
When she pleads with him to talk to her and lean on her shoulder for support he retorts with, “I don’t want to lean on your god damn shoulder,” raising his voice for the first time. Maggie enjoys this reaction, feeling that she has finally provoked some emotion in him.
Brick has lost all affection for his wife and there are homosexual connotations throughout the play, suggesting that he had a close relationship with Skipper, his best friend who fell in love with him. Maggie once slept with Skipper because it made her feel alive again and it bought both of them “closer to you (Brick).”
The grotesque couple
The grotesqueness of the pregnant Mae (Nina Sosanya) who has also married into the family, with her four children (although in the production there were only three children visible) highlights the lack of children in Maggie’s life.
Mae and Gooper’s intention to inherit the estate is embodied in the action of their children singing Big Daddy a birthday song. We can clearly see the parents mouthing the words to them and the family’s appearance in party outfits and pink sparkling hats in an attempt to entertain and ‘butter up’ Big Daddy is hilarious.
Themes and Big Daddy
Act two consists mainly of a father and son conversation between Brick and Big Daddy. Unfortunately this does loose pace towards the end.
Lester is out-shone by James Earl Jones as Big Daddy, whose resonant voice and immense presence conveys the domineering and chauvinistic character brilliantly. Big Daddy’s awareness of the “obnoxious smell of mendacity” keeps the tension high as the characters constantly lie to each other, especially when discussing his illness.
The decision has been made to update some of the language in this scene and therefore Big Daddy swears a lot. This provides much needed comedy to this weighty scene and Jones’ comic timing is superb. He screams “f**k yeh I’m a rich man… 80million f**king dollars.” But money is worthless to someone who is old and ill fated; Big Daddy says, “I can’t buy back this life with it.”
There are some lovely directional touches in this act. Big Daddy tells Brick that life is too short and that he should stop drinking. Following this we hear the soft ticking of a clock as the two men listen in silence. They sit side by side on the sofa, sharing a rare peaceful moment but still unable to fully communicate as father and son.“That’s a nice peaceful sounding clock – sometimes I like to listen to it all night,” says Brick just as Big Daddy experiences some pain in his stomach, highlighting how life is ticking away from him.
Setting
The 1980s setting is conveyed through the subtle designs of Morgan Large (scenic design) and Andrew Allen (original music). The set involves a wood panelled bar with a television embedded in one of its cupboards but this is one of the only visual nods to the 80s as the grandeur and opulence of the room hints more towards the nostalgia of the plantation house.
The outside balcony displays any servants or family members (mainly Mae) who eavesdrop on the goings on in the bedroom, highlighting the lack of privacy throughout the house. This is something that Big Mama thrives on, “no need for doors in my house” and Big Daddy detests, “I can’t stand sneaking and spying.”
The original music is perhaps the biggest indication of the change of time setting with its saxophone solos reminiscent of 80s lounge music. The instrumentation is indicative of that found in popular music of the time whilst still keeping its roots in jazz: a musical genre with black origins.
The costumes by Fay Fullerton are not specifically 80s inspired and perhaps this could have been one area where the decided date could have been more clearly conveyed to the audience.
Apart from the obvious feasibility of a black family in the deep-south being so wealthy, perhaps the change in period setting is fitting due to the revival of capitalism and the search for wealth so characteristic of the 80s. Certainly Gooper and Mae are so desperate for ownership of the estate they will do anything to get it.
There is also the fact that Brick is a retired football star. There were no black sportsmen in the 1950s whereas this is more feasible when setting the play in the 1980s.
Conclusion
This play is timeless and the period setting does not overshadow the brilliance of this production. However there is a chance that some audience members who do not have a prior understanding of the play may be confused.
Overall this production does do this rich William’s play justice. The direction brings out the humour of the piece mainly in the interaction between the relatives – something that we can all relate to. However, the audibility, especially as people speak upstage, is poor and frustrating at times.
Rating: Get the best ticket money can buy - so at least you can hear how brilliant the play is.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof continues at The Novello Theatre until April 10th 2010.
To book tickets click here
November 26, 2009
Cue AirScript – a new technology that will make theatre accessible to all
Last night saw the launch of AirScript, a new handset that will allow audience members to watch a show with the script in their chosen language at their fingertips.
The launch took place at The Shaftesbury Theatre, who is the first theatre to pioneer this new technology.
Translated in 6 different languages; German, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese and Russian, the device can be rented for £6 per performance (on a par with similar Museum devices) allowing a foreign audience member to follow the script in real time. Eventually up to six additional languages will be added to the database.
It will be free for the visually impaired or hard of hearing.
Individual translators were used in order to give a good quality version of the script. The inventor and Chief Executive of Show Translations, Alexander Vegh, told an invited audience at the launch that a “word for word translation would not work” as it may not necessarily make sense to a foreign reader.
How does it work?
Refreshingly the Chief Executive of Theatre of Comedy Company, James Williams, said at the launch that “there has to be a human being there somewhere. That is what theatre is about.”
This means that a person in the circle of the theatre will control a laptop, moving the cursor down the script as the show progresses. If an actor ad libs or a piece of set fails then the script will move accordingly.
David Bradshaw of Cambridge Consultants (developers and manufacturers of AirScript) said that there are three things that make a product successful; “it must solve a real world problem; it must be commercially viable and the product must have a unique relationship with its user” – much like a mobile phone.
He also said that “theatres are not typically welcome of technology” – for example we have all had embarrassing moments when our phones have rang during a performance. Therefore the device is designed to be discreet within the theatrical environment.
Another major problem facing the designers was the fact that the device would have to be wireless. According to Bradshaw, “wirelessly supporting potentially hundreds of devices simultaneously in a theatre was one of the main issues that we had to overcome, but perhaps more important was ensuring that the handsets were universally accessible and non distracting.”
Testing it out
During the performance of Hairspray last night members of the press sat with the Game Boy/Sat Nav black handsets on their laps.
I tested one out and found that they are incredibly light and not at all distracting. Controlled by one touch of the screen, when you select what language you desire, the device automatically controls itself.
When Phil Jupitus, playing Edna Turnblad, improvised for a few minutes the AirScript simply displayed improvisation and the script stopped running.
A widescreen with LED back lighting makes the device discreet and simple. It also has a low power consumption that makes the handset last up to six hours – sufficient for a West End musical.
One third of West End audiences are foreign
According to a Society of London Theatre Box Office Data Report (2008), about a third of London’s theatre tickets are purchased by overseas visitors to London, many of whom are non-English speakers. Therefore there is a definite gap in the market for this type of product.
Problems with the product
However, when I used the product the WIFI did loose connection during the opening number – only for a few seconds but it does raise the question of how reliable the WIFI will be – even if there are back up systems in place.
I thought that having the script on your lap, for example, may not be as natural as seeing subtitles in your peripheral view (like during Opera performances). However, the physicality of glancing down to see the script is not the problem.
The most challenging things about AirScript is that as you look from the bright stage to the darkness of the screen it takes a while for your eyes to adjust. You have to truly concentrate to see the faint text on the screen. This is partly due to the LED backlighting used to prevent the distraction of other audience members but it means that you can’t switch quickly from stage to screen – it is almost one or the other.
Will other theatres take on this new technology?
James Williams said, “it is appropriate that Hairspray, with its broad-based appeal, should be the vehicle for bringing the West End this concept for universal success.”
It is questionable as to whether other theatres will follow the lead of The Shaftesbury Theatre due to the set up costs and the fact that it costs £6 a go.
With ticket prices steep and the universal language of music and dance it will be interesting to see how popular the devices become. Williams said that other theatres were waiting to make decisions, “looking to see how it goes here.”
There will be a website launch next week.
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Tags: AirScript, Cambridge Consultants, Hairspray, Phil Jupitus, Show Translations, The Shaftesbury Theatre