SOMEONE WHO'LL WATCH OVER ME
High Point University's
Someone Who Will Watch Over Me
March 16 at 7:30 PM
March 17 at 7:30 PM
March 18 at 7:30 PM
March 19 at 2:00 PM
"Three men - three nationalities - a single cell":
Adam, Edward and Michael have been taken hostage in the Lebanon and are being held indefinitely in a single cell. This is not a political play, however; the cell could be anywhere. McGuinness has used the hostage situation to examine what happens to people when they are thrown together in close confinement against their will. Trapped in a constant dialogue with each other, the three characters play endless mind games, writing imaginary letters home, drinking imaginary martinis and telling stories as details of their home lives are slowly revealed. Caught between the need to communicate and the longing to be alone, the men torment and protect each other by turn, building up a complex network of power and support.
The play's great strength is in its use of repetition - the characters adopt each others' mannerisms and slide into circular monologues, as if clinging onto trivial details of life outside the cell to restore some semblance of order to their lives. The sense of claustrophobia is intensified by our knowledge that everything said in the cell can be heard by the guards outside it: being watched over takes on a sinister undertone, ironically off-set by the snatches of Ella Fitzgerald singing "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me" which cleverly link the scenes. The play is ambitious in what it demands from its actors, and fortunately these three are consistently solid with moments of real excellence. As well as being an intense theatrical experience, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me is thought-provoking, moving and sharply funny.