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Gagarin Way
Playwright - Gregory Burke
Director - John Tiffany
Company - Traverse Theatre Company production 0131
228 1404
lot of info at www.traverse.co.uk
Seen at Traverse on 1 August as part of Traverse Festival Season
transfered to National Theatre London where played until early 2002 now
in London West end with one cast change Review
Reviewer - Thelma Good
Here global warming and companies, philosophy and politics, are spun into
striking lines with searing skill. Gregory Burke's first play cuts through
our crud and shines a light on the festering world sores beneath. And
it's deadly funny about the mess we are in.
Set in a multi-national's factory store room, four males spend a night
together. A night one of them might never forget, another intends to,
and the other two? Well out of it. Who are they? Eddie twitches and dances
like a live wire searching to earth himself. Tom, well he just ain't going
to find the power. Frank, he's the main man and Gary? His wire's an old
fashioned shade of red. At least three are from Fife. We say you need
a long spoon to sup with a Fifer. Certainly true of 2 of Burke's 4 diverting
creations. The actors take his script, wring out a full measure of sharp-edged
exchanges and acerbic humour. The action is divided into 4 by stylised
struck poses with harsh light and music, this punctuation interferes with
the play's onward rush. Also the staging with a curved back flat on a
thrust stage with the audience nearly all facing the narrow end reduces
limits the power of the piece. Maybe either the future dates in London
at the National required this, or one of the other productions in the
packed back to back daily programme at the Traverse forced this unfortunate
staging decision.
Pile driving sharp, angry shafts of Library-ticket-gained understanding,
Michael Nardone makes a great Eddie fizzing with frustration. Burke's
attention to how words sound strengthens the pace as Eddie uses f and
c words as marvellous mouth music . He's also winding up the just-waiting-for-a-real-job
Tom, the graduate security guard - a boy in a man's uniform, played with
just the right touch of innocence by Michael Moreland. Gary, Billy McElhaney,
stuck in the political past where men had idealism and other dead isms.
Older than his mate Eddie, Gary's not as cynically, acidly, comically
wise. Frank's, a travelling man with a briefcase and hooker in every hotel,
given by Maurice Roeves the glazed-over world-weary air of the frequent
flyer.
Gagarin Way starts upbeat and spirals, sometimes slow, sometimes swift,
to the final scene's chilling ending. The play is very good and tight,
the Traverse Theatre Company production has flaws.
© Thelma Good 1 August 2001
Text available from Traverse, National Theatre Bookshop London and other
booksellers
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