Rating: *****
Presley (Chris New) and Haley (Mariah Gale) live a recluse half-adulthood in the festering house that was once their parents’, doping themselves on snacks and “medicine” between drugging themselves to sleep and repeating stories and nostalgias. One day Cosmo Disney (Nathan Stewart-Jarret) bursts into their sheltered existence and asks the question, just what did happen to their parents?
Twenty-one years ago, Philip Ridley’s groundbreaking play shook the very foundations of modern theatre that reportedly had audience fleeing The Bush Theatre in fear. It’s astonishing that over two decades on it’s still bold, hard-hitting, and horrifying.
Beyond ghosts and monsters, Ridley has created and limbo between reality and nightmares where playtime is ominous and innocence has seen better days. The plot that unfolds is bizarre and twisted, with plenty of shocks and gasps. In a generation that has made numb to bug-eating reality programmes and gore-clad slasher films, Ridley still manages to tease terror out of simple scares. But as in-your-face and grotesque as it is, Ridley’s articulate script and uncomfortable humanity keeps you unwillingly enrapt. The trick? Nothing in this danse macabre is ever gratuitous. In fact there are unexpected and straight shooting philosophical musings, and a devilish sense of humour that pepper the measured and meticulous nastiness.
But where Ridley’s writing has created a masterpiece, it’s the cast and creatives that make its run at the Arcola Theatre a phenomenon. Bob Bailey’s set literally looms over the audience on the lower level. Its simplicity augments it decrepitness, and rises out of the brick and ironwork of the studio space like a chilling monolith amidst an Armageddon.
Stewart-Jarret is fascinating as the cruel joker Cosmo; predatory, spiteful, and near sociopathic. Gale is unnerving as the twitchy and panicked Haley. But it is New, fresh from his acclaimed role as Glen in Weekend, that steals the show. New treads the line of half-adult half-child not only hypnotically, but with a bounding and unstoppable energy. His most superb moments are his monologues where he becomes a frantic and fantastical story-teller; flinching, sweating, and dancing about the stage. In fact, the immense physical performances across the cast are what really drives the action and prevents you from looking away.
Indeed it is worth giving praise to Jane Gibson’s outstanding movement direction, turning the small raised stage into a high octane coliseum despite limited space and props, working alongside director Edward Dick who brilliantly conducts this ghoulish sideshow.
It’s hard to describe this play as ‘enjoyable’. It’s difficult not to come away from the show a little disturbed to say the least. But none-the-less you leave knowing that you’ve just witnessed something fantastic and unique. Those of a weak and/or pious disposition should certainly avoid. But for anyone with a real interest in just how powerful, demanding, and intense theatre can be, this is an absolute must.
A fetid fairytale of cockroaches, gimps, and bedazzling tormentors, this show is unlike anything else on in London. Guaranteed to terrify and put you off Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut for good!
The Pitchfork Disney plays at the Arcola Theatre, London, E8 3DL until 17 March 2012. Tickets are £22.50 (concessions available). To book call 020 7503 1646 or visit www.pitchfork2012.co.uk.
Featured image: Nathan Stewart-Jarret as Cosmo Disney and Mariah Gale as Haley. Photograph: Scott Rylander. Courtesy of the Arcola Theatre.
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