Theatre Guild. Little Theatre. 15 August 2015
George and Martha. Ever heard of them? You might have a couple like them in your life. That is, the couple that perform their marriage in public. They like to raise the stakes of the dinner party by goading and prodding each other to solicit a reaction, hopefully an embarrassing one, or to "enchant" the evening with witty barbs on the return of the serve. It's a dangerous game, and can spiral out of control. It can also be very disturbing for the guests, but that's part of the idea, to get people out of their comfort zone, push their buttons and to see what stuff they're really made of. Bad marriage turned to blood sport.
American playwright Edward Albee caused a sensation in 1962-3 when his psychological drama during a long after-party drinks session hit Broadway. He was rewarded with a Tony and a New York Drama Critics' Circle award for best play, and went on to win three Pulitzer prizes.
In Albee's hyper-version of this damaged marriage phenomenon, George is a clapped-out history (read yesterday's academic) professor at an upstate New York university. His marriage to Martha, the university president's daughter, for 23 years, has not resulted in the expected advancement. After a party at Daddy's house, Martha invites over a couple new to town, a young biology (ie; the future - genetics, etc are discussed) prof and his rather simple wife. It's on, as George and Martha play psycho-games with the guests and each other.
This production is an absolute ripper. Director Geoff Brittain has marshalled his forces into a fighting team. The creeping barrages are laid thick and fast, and the swordplay is expert. "the Woolf" is a necessarily lengthy play so that the audience gets the wearing-down effect and both barrels in the denouement have maximum effect, but Brittain's production is action-packed throughout.
In spite of a delayed season due to an illness in the cast, they were a well-oiled machine of rapid-fire insults and slanging matches. There are four-out-of-four terrific performances. Julie Quick played a great Martha - mercurial and a superb drunk. Her venomous barbs lingered in the air and from the front row were rather frightening. Chris Leech as the harried George was every inch the has-been prof, but a cunning one as he invents new games, like Hump the Host, and Get the Guests. Mark Healy's Nick had the necessary unbalance while Jessica Carroll's Honey's descent into an alcoholic haze was palpable. But it was the way that Brittain had them working together with repartee, and in creating changes of mood and pace. Martha and George encircled their prey and used them like bait that ends in a winner-take-all end-game. Tony Clancy's study/lounge room set was just the ticket, but the soundtrack added nothing.
This is another Theatre Guild production delivering the goods and should not be missed. Double bravo!
David Grybowski
When: 12 to 22 August
Where: Little Theatre, University of Adelaide
Bookings: trybooking.com
