Theatre
watch the show. We watch lithiopian starvation. we watch Palestine. and it‘s all part of the show. as if you‘re not involved in it.‘
What‘s important about this Baudrillardian concept is its recognition of our complicity in a brutalised world. ‘I was lucky enough not to he born in Guatemala. or China. where some little girl made my jeans. or sewed these moccasins I‘m wearing.‘ says Clancy. 'l know that there are winners and losers. What this show says is here‘s a loser. We‘re going to beat him to death in front of yoti. and we‘re going to say. as we‘re doing it. “You kmm‘ that this is what happens.“ You know that at the bottom of every civilised structure and artifact that you know is violence. that‘s the truth.‘
If this sounds moralistic. bear in mind the very human tragi-comedy of the piece. There‘s something vital and often very sympathetic beneath every grotesque in the Americana Absurdum repertory. ‘lt‘s not just a bunch of
Americans standing tip there shouting abotit globalisation. consumerism and capitalism. We‘d understand if people said. “Well ftick you. I don‘t want to sit here and be lectured at." So we‘re looking at the larger level. at what‘s below that. It‘s about how we think. and perception.‘ (‘lancy says. ‘At the very end. there‘s a human situation. a person. not some idea. These are not unreal people. it‘s a human tragedy.‘
With a cast that includes Nancy Walsh. a splendid performer and an Americana Absurdum regular. and Mike McShane. who produced a towering performance in last year‘s Fat/my. this looks guaranteed entertainment. and entertainment needn't actually render you passive.
Assembly Rooms, 226 2428, 7-29 Aug (not 15), 3.15pm, {HO—£12. Preview 5—6 Aug (£5).
Driven to destruction
Steve Cramer examines Marlowe’s notorious THE JEW OF MALTA and finds it not guilty of its alleged anti-Semitism.
History is Slllllll‘, unkind to some texts. mgardless of their quality. This might Hell sum up the fortunes of Christopher Marlowe's lhe Jei‘.’ of :‘vfa/ta. t'xhieh. because of its ()8l(}l‘.‘3ll)l(-} le‘ll Seiiiitisin was one of the most produeed theatre pieces -n Na/i (Berriiany; It has subsequently gathered dust or‘ inang,’ an artistrt: diretgtoi's shel‘.'es here and amino the world. in the post war era.
But if you listen to the folks froii‘ leatio Della Contraddieione. a Milan based (l<)'l‘l)éll“,. t’ie pie(:e is deeply iiiisunderstoorl. (:(Eliéliltl‘c’. the”; gm} gimpixy. racist expressions. (l|l(?(ii(?(l both at Baiabas. the eponymous protagonist. and Ithaiiioie. his Moorish servant. in the text. reflective of the iaeisiii of any expanding (L()l()ll|£ll culture, not just that :it Elizabethan Fflglt’ll‘d. But there's also a deep causality in the play. ‘.'.’ll|(2ll asks ‘.'.'hether an. rzeope treated ‘.‘.’|lll iiioi‘strous brutality and (ll?él'(?f§l)(l‘(ii won't eventually be driven to “.'=’.)l(}ll(lt} and revenue.
This is l)l‘(?(i|8(€l‘, .vhat Bai‘abas comes to_ He's deprived of his l)l‘()l)(?ll‘y. the only flung; with which; ininority can gain status I." a most society, while his only daughter <:oir.'erts to ()tuiistianzf'y. |(}€l‘.$liti hint feeling failed as both a father and a Jew. After a good deal of this kind of abuse and i'iaigiiiialisatioii, Bai'abas finds himself as able To bipitalise people as his torinentors are. and 32h, l‘,\ :2?
TS Eliot. back in the days ‘.'.r'lien this pie<:e '.‘.'as frequently performed. say'x it not as a tragedy l:th a dark and \.l()l(?lll farce. tapping; ll‘it) a nineh older form of British humour. as tinforgivingi and |lll[)l£l(l€ll)l(3 as an old and malexofeixt God. Arid certainly. there's a good tleai :>f 'llll‘Vltil there, lh's. as well as the tragedy. looks like being; realised in this prodtitttion. by a company noted for the” physieality. as well as the influence o‘ (Loiiirhedia [_)e| Arte in their .'.'or'k. the use of i‘iusit: and 'iio'.'eineii‘. as a forefront to this production looks like tilllllllf';l Wt?“ with the ‘.‘.’l|(l t]"()i(?t§(ltl<}l1(} of t'iis piece, .'/l‘i!’. h defies a (;<>ii\.'ei‘tioiia| llilltlrilllSlKI l)l't)(ltl{;°.|’)ll far beyond most other work of the period. t xpettt (:olotir. splendour. and soiiiethint; ‘.’e"‘, relepant about the way in which we treat iizaitiinalisett people Wlllllll our culture. .'./ho iiiitiht .'.ieli respond .'.'it’i violence when denied a language to (itll‘v‘JOfSO ll‘.
I Souths/tie. sex 2597?. 6- 2’8 flirt; i'fo.‘ 5‘9 «"5‘7.:">()i, preteen” (i Aug}. 51").
/‘_ at ‘Ir W‘.