Review: The Bald Prima Donna, Wharf Theatre, Devizes
8:28am Thursday 21st June 2012 in Theatre & Arts By Lewis Cowen
THIS is the time of year when the Wharf Theatre in Devizes tries out something a little experimental and “left field” - some work better than others.
Lou Cox has chosen to direct Eugene Ionesco’s The Bald Prima Donna, a prime example of the Theatre of the Absurd, which is a very French tradition going back to Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi in the late 19th century.
Ionesco wrote The Bald Prima Donna, which has nothing to do with opera singers, hirsute or otherwise, in 1948 and it went down a storm in France, particularly as it lampoons the English, whom the French never forgave for winning the war for them.
It did less well in Britain, though it was a breath of fresh air after all the mindless drawing room comedies that inhabited the West End at the time.
Ms Cox directs with great energy, getting her cast to mug and gesticulate frantically throughout. For the generation that grew up with Monty Python’s Flying Circus it was all a bit passé, but younger members of the audience enjoyed it hugely.
Congratulations to the cast of Helen Wuscher, Peter Wallis, Emily Jayne Anslow, Julie Baker, Chris Palmer and Jamie Sandy for their intelligent performances in what is really just a suitcase full of king’s new clothes.
kellylorelle says...
11:17pm Mon 25 Jun 12
The play itself was fast paced and had some fantastic lines, offering a rather tongue in cheek reference to an ‘Australian Burgundy’ to which only some of the audience cackled... Therein giving the line even more weight!
Although some of the comedy went over some people’s heads, it did not detract from the overall experience. Children laughed because adults laughed, adults laughed because it was witty and clever.
The characters were portrayed wonderfully, the cast gave each one their own voice(!) The energy oozing from the stage seemed to infect the audience and there was an almost electric buzz during the intermission.
Having heard that this performance was the director’s debut, I was a little taken a back. She certainly hit the ground running with this one! With flashing lights, a gesticulating Fire Captain, Wild Thing and much more it certainly packed a punch.
Lou Cox is certainly someone I shall be keeping an eye on, having seen her perform last year at the Wharf in See How They Run, and now seeing her in this role, i believe her talents to be endless.