Having seen two one-man shows in the last 3 weeks I am full of respect for those brave men, and women, who tackle them. Some theatres being PC now call these one-person shows - simply doesn't have the same ring to it. I am not talking about stand up comediens here, I mean the storyteller type one-man show where one actor stands like a rabbit in the headlights and holds the attention of the audience in his own hands. (Of course an accomplished actor with a fine script bears no resemblance to a rabbit)
My first visit was to Clive Francis performing A Christmas Carol at the Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford. Francis filled the stage with his glorious rendition of Dicken's Scrooge. Oozing confidence and conveying a genuine love for Dicken's language, he rolled his r's with theatrical license and totally captivated the Mill Studio audience. We listened intently to Dickens' wonderful words that are still so redolent today - 'And thus the day passed and nightfall came on, more bitter and freezing than ever; the bleak wind whistling through the streets most dolefully.”
Dickens first read A Christmas Carol on December 30th, 1853 at the Birmingham Town Hall, to an audience of over 2,000. Such was its success, and thanks to its rich language, an array of colourful characters and the endearing Christmas theme, it has been performed as a one-man show hundreds of times since.
But whereas A Christmas Carol allows the one-man actor the relief of calling upon a host characters to create interest and diversity, Krapps Last Tape by Samuel Beckett is a very different and more difficult show to perform. Written in 1958, eleven years before Beckett won the Noble Prize of Literature, the play gives voice to the internal conversations we have with ourselves. Notable past performances include Harold Pinter, John Hurt and Michael Gambon. At the Rose Theatre, Kingston it was Tom Owen's turn to tackle the most challenging role of his career to date.
Owen, of Last of the Summer Wine fame, portrayed the 69 year old Krapp with grit and conviction but patience was a virtue for the audience. There is a long scene at the start where the grunting, grumbling Krapp unlocks and locks his desk, retrieving and enjoying a banana, then another. He swigs frequently from a bottle off-stage - it is a long time before the actual tapes begin, and it felt it. Complete silence from the audience throughout, and as so often is the with Beckett, we are unsure whether humour is intended. It just felt a bit uncomfortable, but who knows if that's intended?!
Finally, at last, Krapp sits at his desk in his ‘den’ preparing for his yearly ritual of recording his reflections on a tape-recorder. He listens to a tape of critical decisions made on his 39th birthday. The 39 year-old Krapp has in turn listened to a tape he made when he was 27. By this means we come to know fragments of Krapp’s life. It is a clever theatrical devise and we become engaged and intrigued by Krapp's life and his innermost thoughts, although the droning tape can be a little somnalent. By regarding past events through several sets of eyes, each more jaded than the last, the audience gets to immerse itself in three timelines. Owen stays true to this crotchety old character throughout and his weary, bitter old Krapp, so detached from reality, is up there with those great actors who have bravely played Krapp before him.
But more than that, more than the words or what we might call the 'plot', what intrigued me yet again was the courage and skill of the lone actor who manages, without employing humour or gags, to hold an audience's attention and convey another world - completely on his own.
www.rosetheatrekingston
www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk
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| Clive Francis |
My first visit was to Clive Francis performing A Christmas Carol at the Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford. Francis filled the stage with his glorious rendition of Dicken's Scrooge. Oozing confidence and conveying a genuine love for Dicken's language, he rolled his r's with theatrical license and totally captivated the Mill Studio audience. We listened intently to Dickens' wonderful words that are still so redolent today - 'And thus the day passed and nightfall came on, more bitter and freezing than ever; the bleak wind whistling through the streets most dolefully.”
Dickens first read A Christmas Carol on December 30th, 1853 at the Birmingham Town Hall, to an audience of over 2,000. Such was its success, and thanks to its rich language, an array of colourful characters and the endearing Christmas theme, it has been performed as a one-man show hundreds of times since.
But whereas A Christmas Carol allows the one-man actor the relief of calling upon a host characters to create interest and diversity, Krapps Last Tape by Samuel Beckett is a very different and more difficult show to perform. Written in 1958, eleven years before Beckett won the Noble Prize of Literature, the play gives voice to the internal conversations we have with ourselves. Notable past performances include Harold Pinter, John Hurt and Michael Gambon. At the Rose Theatre, Kingston it was Tom Owen's turn to tackle the most challenging role of his career to date.
Owen, of Last of the Summer Wine fame, portrayed the 69 year old Krapp with grit and conviction but patience was a virtue for the audience. There is a long scene at the start where the grunting, grumbling Krapp unlocks and locks his desk, retrieving and enjoying a banana, then another. He swigs frequently from a bottle off-stage - it is a long time before the actual tapes begin, and it felt it. Complete silence from the audience throughout, and as so often is the with Beckett, we are unsure whether humour is intended. It just felt a bit uncomfortable, but who knows if that's intended?!
But more than that, more than the words or what we might call the 'plot', what intrigued me yet again was the courage and skill of the lone actor who manages, without employing humour or gags, to hold an audience's attention and convey another world - completely on his own.
www.rosetheatrekingston
www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk
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