Redeeming the unforgiveable

Any society unable or unwilling to forgive perpetrators of terrible, yes almost unforgivable crimes, will inevitably demand the ultimate penalty, that they pay with their lives. One particular criminal act that sometimes results in vigilante groups wanting to take justice into their own hands is paedophilia. Bruce Norris’s no holds barred, yet balanced and compassionate Downstate (National Theatre) attempts to shake us out of our often-entrenched positions.

In downstate Illinois, four men, Dee (K Todd Freeman), Felix (Eddie Torres), Fred (Francis Guinan) and. Gio (Glenn Davis), convicted of sex crimes against minors share a government-owned group home where they live out their lives in the shadow of the crimes they committed. Banned from going anywhere near places that children gather they are permanently watched and monitored by cameras and Ivy (Cecilia Noble), a seriously saturnine police officer.

As the complex drama unfolds, we learn why each of them is there. It makes for uncomfortable viewing and director Pam MacKinnon opts for an approach that is neither damning or exonerating. Their actual crimes vary in their seriousness or is that really the point Norris is making that we make those distinctions and who are we to judge? When Andy (Tim Hopper) turns up unexpectedly, a man Fred abused as a boy, the scene is set for conflict and melodrama. Norris’s writing cuts across that narrative and instead there is awkwardness that is never condemnatory. But no closure for Andy and no forgiveness for Fred.

Garrulous Gio comes across as a bit of an arse, Dee expresses everything through anger and Felix, the one whom we would probably find hardest to forgive, is an emotional wasteland, yearning solitude and anonymity. The essential humour is borderline without being offensive and is a clever provocative device. For many of us the default reaction to uncomfortable truths is initially laughter. In the end, whatever your view, this superbly performed co-production with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, will shake up your thinking and lobs a debating IED (Integrity, Education, Daring) into a topic that is already incendiary.

To quote Bob Marley – “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, None but ourselves can free our minds…” That means them, and us.

Meanwhile Marcos Christou cries murder most foul…

At the urging of his sister, Electra, Orestes (Silk Street Theatre) kills his mum, Clytemnestra, revenge for her murder of his father Agamemnon. The Furies then get their revenge by driving Orestes mad. Eventually, Apollo intervenes and sets up a trial in Athens. Orestes is acquitted and the Furies are given a place of honour. All’s well that ends well you may think, unfortunately the Guildhall School of Music and Drama gave us a radical reworking that was prosaically dystopian but ended up being almost pantomimic in a final scene where a collapsing wall had the audience in raptures. Brave but foolhardy, the actors, some of whom demonstrated real talent, were let down by a production that almost ended up murdering the brilliance of Euripides.

Finally Rose Goodenough is feeling seasick…

Set on a transatlantic liner in the 1930s, Tom Stoppard’s Rough Crossing (Yvonne Arnaud) is a preposterous and unfunny story of two playwrights preparing their new work for Broadway. The play is unsurprisingly rarely revived and although parts of the script have the Stoppard stamp of wit and luvvy jokes, and an excellent cast well directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, it is mainly dull and well past its sell by date. Colin Richmond’s stylish Art Deco set certainly looks the part and the elegantly attired characters, an unlikeable bunch, get lost in the waves. The moral of this story is, don’t rely on a playwright’s name and fame, check that the content can still cut it otherwise you may end up on a sinking ship.

Downstate – 020 7452 3000

Rough Crossing – on tour

Orestes – run complete

Barney