I have a confession to make. My AS Level drama days were marred by an utter disinterest in THOSE kinds of plays. You know exactly what I mean. That sort of translated-from-a-foreign-language “Oh look at us, making big grand statements about life and the human existence whilst not saying very much at all” stuff. It all seemed like a very elaborate and pretentious display of smoke and mirrors to me, so I’ve made every effort to avoid these sorts of grandstanding theatrics ever since.
Alas, I found myself sitting in the front row of New Venture Theatre’s “No Exit”. Seeing the word “existentialism” on the inside cover of the programme had made those palpitations and anxieties come rushing back. However optimistic I attempted to be, I was prepared for one and a half hours of superfluous navel-gazing.
A lesbian postal clerk, a womanising pacifist and a rags-to-riches society girl are trapped in a room. It’s not the latest ITV2 reality programme. It’s hell. Close enough.
Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit” follows these three individuals as they descend to the afterlife, which is represented as a brightly lit room with soft furnishings. Despite having moved on from their previous lives, none of these people have let go of the sins, trials and tribulations that tarnished their earthly existences. Over the course of the play, the three attempt to accustom themselves with their new and infinite surroundings.
I’m glad to proclaim that my aforementioned anxieties about this kind of drama were soon swept away. Through the immediate and intimate theatre-in-the-round setup, to which the audience arrives via the set, the claustrophobia of the three protagonists is apparent from the outset. Despite being strong and impassioned, the delivery of the three central performances does not match this approach. This misjudgement leads to a style of acting that occasionally feels ‘stagey’ and more in tune with the detached and distanced capacity of the proscenium arch.
These minor flaws, however, do not detract from the chemistry and tensions so perfectly displayed between the leading characters of the piece. That New Venture Theatre is a community theatre company with a long local history is evident in the symbiotic nature of these performances. Throughout, I often found myself gazing at the member with the least to say at that given moment. This distraction was a testament to both the sustained characterisation and shrewd direction evident throughout; “No Exit” is evidently a truly three-dimensional piece of theatre.
Overall, Sartre’s text is clearly one that has THOSE things to say about life and existence and all those other philosophical clichés that I’ve come to deride with much scepticism. However, this production places these themes in a context so immediate and raw that they become accessible to everyone.
