Gethsemane, by David Hare December 13, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Reviews , trackbackThis had rave reviews, but I must have missed something. I really did not get this play.
Set in a similar world to Westminster in the middle years of the Blair government, this has three or four interesting stories bubbling away. There is the embattled, career driven female Home Secretary, determined to stand by her criminal husband and not become another victim of political battles. There is the aging rock manager now dedicating to fund-raising for the Labour party, nothing to do with Lord Levy of course. The Home Secretary’s stroppy teenage daughter is having a bit of a crisis, involving dope and a friendly gang-bang, while the faithful friend is having a mid-life crisis. Any of these could provide a good story, but instead we get bits of all of them, but no whole.
After a couple of hours, the play finally builds up to some sort of denouement, the Home Secretary telling the Prime Minister he’ll have to sack her, and she won’t go quietly which looks like it could be building up to something, but then we disappear off to Sicily for a girly chat between the daughter and the loyal friend before the end.
Maybe its just supposed to be a slice of life, with a few dated political references thrown in for laughs. The blurb says that all the characters pass through Gethsemane, which the teenager helpfully tells us means having doubts and then getting on with it, but if so, its certainly obscure.
Tamsin Grieg (Debbie from t’Archers, though far more distinguished than that implies) is very good, but doesn’t have a lot to work with. It was nice to see Gugu Mbatha-Raw live, after Bonekickers and Dr Who on the telly. This is the third time I’ve seen her cast as an eager assistant, and she’s clearly capable of more.
Gethsemane plays at the Cottesloe until 24 Feb, and is apparently a sellout. £10 for a side seat in the upper circle was just about money well spent. V18 had a restricted view, but not enough to cause a problem.
Comments»
no comments yet - be the first?