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BRAZIL
- World Premiere.
Playwright - Ronan O'Donnell.
Director - Graeme Maley.
Producer - Kate McGrath.
Designer - Louise Anderson.
Lighting Designer - Maria Bechaalani.
Composer - Brian Docherty for Scientific Support Department.
Company - Theatre of Imagination.
Venues toured to in Spring 2003 - The Latchmere Theatre, Clapham,
London. Box office 020 7978 7040 .11 February to 2 March 2003
and The Arches, Glasgow 9 - 12 April.
Running Time - Approx. 50 minutes - No Interval.
Seen to review at Latchmere Theatre London February 2003.
Reviewer - Jamie Neil.
Russell Crowe and Timothy Spall spliced together.
Brazil - Theatre of Imagination.
Antony Strachan as Doddy.
© The photographer 2003
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Glasgow, and the nation, is under siege to unnamed superpowers, foreign
armies march on British soil, information is a controlled substance.
Whether intended or not, Brazil by Ronan O'Donnell nods its head
to Terry Gilliam's film of the same name. In an alternate, war-torn and
Orwellian Glasgow of sprawling housing schemes, superscreen televisions
and sectarian division, our 'hero', Doddy, dreams of taking flight, of
"escaping his own pretend".
If ever there were a play for the moment, then this is it. With 'Iraqnophobia'
running rampant through the government, Brazil asks what is it
to be a refugee in your own country, to feel the military might of another
nation, and to grasp at hope in the smallest of things?
Antony Strachan delivers a performance of poise, energy and pathos.
If Russell Crowe and Timothy Spall were spliced together, you might get
something akin to Mr Strachan's presence. Echoes of Kabuki, Commedia
and hints of the robotic, are blended extremely well here.
The stark black and white set and simple lighting are used beautifully.
The persistence of vision they create leave you with the ghosts of images
fading on your retina. After leaving the auditorium the writing also stays
with you. Thoughts and ideas replay themselves gently - the recurring
theme being change. What are we changing into - angels, our parents, poppies?
Moreover, can we change - are we consigned to 'Wantonness forever mair'?
Are we simply concerned with surfaces, ignorant of what lies beneath?
The answers lie under marmite lids, behind oversized television screens,
and in the refuge of a doo-cote.
The main problem I have with this production is the lack of any warmth
or sympathy for Doddy. Unlike 'Liam' in Ken Loach's 'Sweet Sixteen', the
writing does not allow you to like him. The stunted nature of Doddy's
development, alluded to in the script, is not enough for you to pity him.
It also jarrs that Doddy is an illiterate, and yet often speaks with the
obviously educated phrases of the author.
For all that, this play is a gem, slightly flawed, but very well crafted.
©Jamie Neil 25 February 2003 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Brazil Cast:
Antony Strachan - Doddy
Review of Ronan
O'Donnell's Spambam toured with other short plays by Lookout TC in 2002.
Info on Theatre of Imagination supplied by the Company.
Theatre of Imagination is a new company led by Artistic Director Graeme
Maley, Associate Artist Liam Brennan and Producer Kate McGrath which vigorously
supports writers with originality of voice and the courage to express
their social and political convictions.
Maley has worked with Paines Plough, The Traverse, and The Royal Court;
and credits include Great Moments by Abi Morgan and Picasso's Women starring
Toyah Wilcox. McGrath works at BAC and won a Fringe First for her production
of HyperLynx at
last year's Edinburgh Festival.
Ronan O'Donnell's first play, The Chic Nerds, was commissioned and produced
by the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in 1998. In 2002 Lookout TC toured
Spambam and Ronan is commissioned by the Traverse Theatre under its International
Playwrights in Partnership Scheme to produce a Scots/English version of
Beijing playwright Xiaoli Wang's In The Bag.
This production of Brazil toured to The Arches, Glasgow 9 - 12 April.
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