Epic
theatre is that kind of sporadic event that allows for the broad canvas, the
big themes and the multiplicity of character and plot development and comes
along only once in a great while. When done well it is always a joy and a
wonder to behold. It renews the art form and teaches us how the theatre
occupies a unique place within the performing arts and why - in spite of the
proliferation of new information technologies, DVDs, the advances of
filmmaking, etc. - it just refuses to give way.
Tony
Kushner's gay phantasmagoric play, Angels in America, arguably the most important
American play of the twentieth century, is a piece of theatre art that moves
along with big thematic elements involving the politics of McCarthyism, the
death of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the advent of gay liberation and the
onslaught of HIV/AIDS. Like Nicholas Nickleby, it unfolds in two parts - The
Millenium Approaches
and Perestroika
- and requires an investment of time on the part of the theatre goer of two
evenings or one afternoon and one evening (when run concurrently) in order to
take it all in. It is a marathon run of the emotions for both the cast and the
audience. Robert Schenkkan's Kentucky Cycle that traces the working class
lives of Kentucky coal miners through the eyes of early socialist and anarchist
leaders like Mother Jones and Emma Goldman is another example of big theme
Americana that probes the conscience and jostles the soul. Tom Stoppard's nine
hour trilogy discourse on the Russian intelligentsia of the mid-19th century, The
Coast of Utopia,
is perhaps less successful dramatically but still compelling as a project that
ultimately chews off more than it can bite.
When
Nicholas Nickleby
was birthed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1980 and subsequently came to
New York a few years later it was acclaimed for two reasons - for the breadth
of its theatricality and striking contemporary resonance of the Dickensian
themes of social injustice as well as the astounding price of the $100 dollar
ticket. As the homeless were being vacated from central Manhattan, theatre
goers were transporting themselves back to the 19th century in the best
traditions of melodrama that contained both tragedy and comedy - evil doers who
met their just ends and good folks who finally found their way and lived
happily ever after.
Flash
forward twenty eight years and times have changed as much as they have stayed
the same. There is still a need to hear the lamentations and exaltations of our
hero, Nicholas, here played by Daniel Weyman. Although we still have the pensive
brooding and righteous indignation necessary for the role, there is something
lacking in Weyman's performance, a kind of pent-up emotional constipation that
never really allows him to go the full circle with his Nicholas which needs
that liberated, emancipatory finish to fully round out the role. Granted Roger
Rees is indelibly imprinted here as the original Nicholas so the barre is set
high, but when running the marathon you either get across the finish and beat
the previous record or you don't. Weyman doesn't quite make it but he sure
gives a lot in the effort.
Special
kudos must go to David Yellen as Ralph Nickleby, the Uncle Scrooge of the piece, who
anchors the play and in the end takes more of our focus and attention than does
Nicholas. Richard Bremmer plays his inebriate clerk, Newman Noggs, to hand
wringing and knuckle crunching perfection while the ensemble of 27 actors
generally play multiple roles which is as much fun for the audience as it is
for the actors.
Among
the stand out performances here are Zoe Waites as the mate seeking Fanny
Squeers (she also doubles as the dˇclassˇ Miss Snevellicci and the
compassionate Madeline Bray). And so it goes with David Dawson as the
sympathetic workhouse runaway, Smite, Bob Barrett as the Yorkshire tenant farmer,
John Browdie, and the fawning Lord Verisopht and the stellar Hannah Yelland who plays Kate Nickleby, the
ever faithful and determined sister to Nicholas.
This
run in Toronto will be the company's only touch down in North America so if you
are anywhere within traveling distance, don't miss this great theatrical event.