Theatre review: Complicit
I saw Complicit at the Old Vic tonight, courtesy of athena25. I knew nothing about it going in, and had some bizarre impression that it was a period drama (possibly because it had David Suchet?) that was quickly dispelled by the beautiful - and very tech-heavy - in-the-round stage. The floor was raised, and glass, with screens panelled at odd angles beneath, showing both AV aspects of the play and also standing in for set (streets, wood panelling, the tv on the wall). Very nicely done. And the remodelled Old Vic is very pretty in the round; it will be a shame to go back to the proscenium after a few months.
The play itself was new writing, and somewhat middling, script-wise. Sometimes it gave the actors scope for comedy and pathos, but often it veered into 'worthy but dull' territory. Part of the problem was that it was about a reporter who is dragged in front of a grand jury to be questioned about a book he wrote in which he described the torture going on at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Suchet is excellent as the lawyer trying to keep his friend out of jail, manoeuvring behind the scenes to work the system to their advantage. Richard Dreyfuss played the reporter, Ben Kritzer, and had a fair stab at it. Unfortunately, he had far too many scenes with Elizabeth McGovern, who was incredibly wooden in her role as his wife. To be fair, the script didn't do her any favours, leaving her little to do but repeat "won't you think of your family!" at appropriate intervals.
Overall, I thought it was an average script, generally very well acted and superbly staged. It's worth going for the AV aspects alone.
*
As this was press night, there were a fair few other names there. athena25 and I were sat next to Mark Gatiss and Tom Cairns (who directed Gatiss in All About My Mother, also at the Old Vic), and during the intermission Colin Morgan (who athena25 helpfully pointed out is that bloke Merlin from, er, Merlin) was wandering around looking clueless. Little wonder: the ice-cream was all but impossible to track down.
I, of course, failed to notice any of these people, and so athena25 had to point them out gently as we went along. There was also an invitation to the after-party, but as we were both knackered (and as it would have involved a coach, by all that's holy, what's wrong with the bloody tube?) we went home instead.
On the way out, we bumped into Ben Miles. See, him, I recognised. So you can't mock me too much.
The play itself was new writing, and somewhat middling, script-wise. Sometimes it gave the actors scope for comedy and pathos, but often it veered into 'worthy but dull' territory. Part of the problem was that it was about a reporter who is dragged in front of a grand jury to be questioned about a book he wrote in which he described the torture going on at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Suchet is excellent as the lawyer trying to keep his friend out of jail, manoeuvring behind the scenes to work the system to their advantage. Richard Dreyfuss played the reporter, Ben Kritzer, and had a fair stab at it. Unfortunately, he had far too many scenes with Elizabeth McGovern, who was incredibly wooden in her role as his wife. To be fair, the script didn't do her any favours, leaving her little to do but repeat "won't you think of your family!" at appropriate intervals.
Overall, I thought it was an average script, generally very well acted and superbly staged. It's worth going for the AV aspects alone.
*
As this was press night, there were a fair few other names there. athena25 and I were sat next to Mark Gatiss and Tom Cairns (who directed Gatiss in All About My Mother, also at the Old Vic), and during the intermission Colin Morgan (who athena25 helpfully pointed out is that bloke Merlin from, er, Merlin) was wandering around looking clueless. Little wonder: the ice-cream was all but impossible to track down.
I, of course, failed to notice any of these people, and so athena25 had to point them out gently as we went along. There was also an invitation to the after-party, but as we were both knackered (and as it would have involved a coach, by all that's holy, what's wrong with the bloody tube?) we went home instead.
On the way out, we bumped into Ben Miles. See, him, I recognised. So you can't mock me too much.