In a new adaptation of Luigi Pirandello’s disturbing masterpiece, Cambridge ADC chop, change and miss the point entirely. A stressed-out, overworked production company are busy trying to rehearse for their upcoming Fringe musical spectacular when the process is interrupted by a family of theatrical constructs - characters abandoned by their author. Demanding that their tragedy be told in place, these characters begin to take over and dominate proceedings.
The trouble with Six Characters is that every couple of years the script stagnates. The original is totally irrelevant to a modern audience and by the nature of its themes must exist in the here and now. Cambridge ADC have done an admirable job cutting the show down to an hour without losing structural integrity and modernise the script beautifully. It all started so promisingly: the dialogue between the production company was amusing and believable, the blocking strong. Then the family entered and things started to slide.
Pirandello’s characters are described, in his words, as ‘otherworldly’ and I did not get this at all. It could be that, as a new take on the show’s overriding theme of theatre being more real than the ‘real’ world, the family are portrayed as more naturalistic than the supposedly ‘real’ production team. Except this didn’t really work. Though an interesting concept, it was weaker than the original: I never had the sense the family took control, nor that the team was pulled into another world.
Nor did the family’s performances feel particularly naturalistic: just flat. The characterisation of the Father, however, was fantastic, delivering a completely fresh and utterly compelling slant. When the Mother came to the fore in the later scenes she presented a strong portrayal, yet in contrast to her fellow family members was stylised in a manner reminiscent of classic Mother characterisation. Now I’m doubting if this whole naturalism affair was purposeful at all.
The less said about the final act, the better. Neither visceral nor frightening, there was no emotional power. The same is true of the moment of the Stepdaughter’s tragedy: rushed and devoid of energy, I felt nothing. A saving grace is in the Set Designer’s delivery of the climactic news - every word was dripping with conviction and almost earned a reprieve for the misguided staging.
There were some delicious touches to the production: the family’s control over the tech, the musical interlude, the Fringe jokes. Not all of them worked, though. The bizarre techno music that accompanied moments of importance was totally out of place and did nothing but distract.
The character of the Director jokes that there are a million reviewers at the Fringe and that they shouldn’t listen to all of them. Please listen to me. This show needs a fundamental rethink. The script is so powerful and moving - why dilute the message?
