Review of Manor
 | "Brutally beautiful with captivating performances" by Chris Sims for remotegoat on 17/03/10 |  |
Murphy takes a setting familiar to UK cinema goers - the London criminal underground - and takes it in an entirely different direction. In contrast to the convoluted plots and semi-comical violence of the movie genre (gently satirised in some of the play's best lines), Manor is focused on character and language, exploring the circumstances around one violent death and the motivations and personalities of three men involved.
The plot itself is simple, unfolding piece by piece through a series of monologues and duologues that skip back and forth in time but carry the audience unerringly towards a greater understanding of the three main characters. Action is minimal; violence, when it comes, brief but effectively staged. What keeps the audience engaged is the superb dialogue and some extraordinary performances.
It's rare to see a group of actors so in tune with each other delivering performances so fully realised physically and emotionally. Stephen Pucci, as the deranged yet compelling gangland boss Stud, is phenomenal in a demanding and exhausting role, switching with ease between revved-up aggression, quiet menace and abject whimpering. James Kermack gives a more low-key but no less convincing performance as the world-weary manager of a pool hall. Barra Collins, as the likeable young lad who gets pulled into Stud's dangerous world, gives an attractive and moving performance - though his accent fluctuates alarmingly across the Irish Sea.
Strangely for a monologue-heavy play, though, it's the way the actors work together that really stands out. Collins and Pucci, in particular, have clearly developed a deep rapport. In their final scenes together this is used to great effect as the two characters seem to move and speak as one, but with vitally different intentions. It's the most "theatrical" moment in the play and it could come off as contrived, but it's brilliantly handled.
The claustrophobic setting - with audience chairs lined up on either side of the tiny stage - is perfect for a story in which all of the characters are in some sense trapped, and leads to some marvelously uncomfortable moments for those in the front row as they face Pucci's psychotic stare from a distance of a couple of feet. On the technical side, though, the production falls down a little. Unnecessary and extended sound effects distracted from the power of the dialogue, while the lighting design left pools of darkness on stage in which the actors occasionally found themselves. The director's liking for sending the actors on walkabouts through the audience also meant some key moments were delivered by faces entirely in shadow. These are minor points compared to the strengths of the writing and acting, but they do inevitably detract from the enjoyment of what is otherwise a riveting production.
| Event Venues & Times | |
| finished | Tristan Bates Theatre | 1a Tower St, London, WC2H 9NP |
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