Evening At The Talk House
By
Wallace Shawn
Farewell To The Theatre
TLT
and her jalopy have never entered The Gay Hussar restaurant but somehow
images of mahogany panels with its Cold War intrigues came to mind looking at
the set of the Talk House dining club of Wallace Shawn's new play about the
thespian world.
But
in the alternative science fiction universe of The Talk House, the theatre of
war takes on a sinister turn enveloping the whole of showbiz.
A
decade on from the premiere of theatre flop Midnight in a Clearing with
Moon and Stars, composer turned jingle writer Ted (Stuart Milligan) has
arranged a reunion at a once favoured post theatre venue, The Talking House,
run by blowsy bohemian Nelly (Anna Calder-Marshall), helped by
waitresss/resting actress (Sinéad Matthews), Caught in time, somewhere in
the no man's land between New Haven, the Royal Court and The Princess Bride.
In
an opening monologue author Robert (Josh Hamilton), now a successful TV
screenwriter, describes the fantastical medievalesque premise of his play. But
this is already unsettling - more reminiscent of a now mundane open-ended
computer game than a play by a promising writer.
Alongside
Nellie, seemingly vulnerable waitress/resting actress Jane welcomes star actor
Tom, a suavely convincing Simon Shepherd, with Joseph Mydell's producer and
talent agent Bill playing every twist and turn to the hilt.
Also
accompanying Ted, wardrobe supervisor Annette (Naomi Wirthner), whose fashion
sense, although not her murderous activities when entertainment sector
employment is hard to find, is reminiscent of a recent newsworthy figure.
And
then from under the rug on the couch emerges cartoon-like Dick, embodied by
Wallace Shawn as some bruised down-and-out Simpsonesque Mr Burns. Once a star
of sitcom and advertising, now an apparent loser until he grasps the
opportunity to read a speech from the play with all the aplomb of a writer as
well as an actor or perhaps an actor making the most of what he is given.
Alliances
and careers have prospered, foundered and may still reverse. No talk here of
marriages, divorces and children or even about the artistic content of
current media successes.
This
is an entertainment Parliament or Senate discussing the market and stock value
of individuals and companies, where products feel more like snacks rather than
the main meal and everyone may devour the other at any moment.
And
are we really to take at face-value Robert's speech to the house, his dismissal
of the "theatre going impulse" (What?! This is Trafficlighttheatregoer!)
and jarring interpretation of the theatre audience experience as a group of passive staring cows chewing
cud?
Smartly
directed by Ian Rickson with evocative set design by Stephen and Timothy Quay, it's an odd
hotch potch of a piece with an actorly improvisational feel which, like many
pieces on stage now, may well work better in the close up, edited medium of
film, even the first episode of a scifi soap.
Nevertheless,
TLT and her horsepower chariot rather liked it, even if they did not love it.
It's curmodgeonly, it's spikey with themes and an atmosphere that stays with
you. And as we are all in a way actors now in front of surveillance cameras and
repositories of valuable data for advertisers, there is the sensation of, if
not the definition why, the play is relevant.
Not
easy-listening at the Talk House but worth catching the last couple of
performances before Christmas and then it runs until March 2016. An amber light.
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