 |
| Glengarry Glen Ross at the Gate |
The Gate Theatre in Parnell Square is
treasured as one of Dublin’s most prestigious performance venues and is
credited with producing impressive national and international works. Their most
recent feat was producing David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Glengarry Glen Ross with a cast of
mostly native Irish actors. Mamet’s play is famously American, and follows the
multiple antagonistic stories of the agents of a less-than-honorable real
estate firm through its maze of manipulative inner-workings. The crux of the
play involves the firm being robbed of their listings, contract, and “leads”,
which results in suspicions and accusations flying around, until finally the most-unsuspected
character confesses. This is a fairly simple plotline, for the art of the piece
lies in the acting: the literal acting by the performers, but also the acts of deception
which are employed by Mamet’s riveting characters. However instinctually odd
producing this play in Ireland may seem, this production and cast proved that a
well-written piece is still relevant and valuable regardless of region or
nation when executed with professionalism and vigor.
The
direction of this play was adequate in that it was consistent and unobtrusive,
but more interesting to consider is why this particular play was produced at
this exact time in Ireland, and what it means now. One would assume that
creating the characterization of realistic and authentic American businessmen
would require more work and study for the Irish actors; however, this may not
be true considering the significant industrialism, capitalism, and American
influence that is present even here in Dublin. Mamet’s piece heavily carries the
theme of American capitalism. Quite simply, this play is about being the best
and making the most money, even if that means stabbing one’s co-workers and
friends in the back. This is especially clear with the cut-throat power-play
between the characters of Roma, Moss, and Levene, all three of whom employ base manipulation to gain
control, and money. It is likely that this play’s success in the U.S. can be credited
to its strong statement and critique of American capitalism. With that in mind,
it’s interesting to consider how this meaning and message changes, or doesn’t,
when this play is performed in Ireland in 2012. Ireland and more specifically
Dublin, now with several years between it and the crash of “the Celtic tiger” in
2008, is found once again struggling in a recession. However, it still remains
to be one of the most massively sought-after tourist destinations in the world.
One could go even further to say that tourism is one of the only steady
industries currently functioning in Ireland. Because of this, there is a
significant number of American business chains who have brought their
businesses to Ireland, specifically Dublin, such as Starbucks, McDonalds, and
Burger King just to name a few. In the program for the show, the location is
given as “An American city”. And while this is annoyingly unspecific at first
glance, the value of not having named a specific city becomes clearer when this
story is applied to Dublin, Ireland now. Even across the ocean and decades from
its origin, the piece is still incredibility topical and poignant for it theme
and critique of the American money machine and how it has sunk its roots around
the world.
The
best performance of the night was hands down given by Mr. Owen Roe in his role
of Shelly “The Machine” Levene. Mr. Roe took the audience on a tantalizing
rollercoaster ride of manipulation, desperation, and deep human suffering. His
expertise allowed him to craft just the right combination of action and emotion
that let the audience sympathize with him one moment, and detest him the next.
Also, considering his Irish roots, his American dialect was flawless. His
speech flowed naturally in a standard mid-western dialect which was neither
artificial nor distracting. The pacing, speed, and tenor of his dialogue were
excellent, which is especially pertinent for this play. Mamet’s quick and witty
text consists of many half-finished sentences and interruptions, and much
aggressive banter, many times between three or more characters at once. And Mr.
Roe successfully navigated this complex text with the dexterity of a master
actor; he weaved his array of realistic exasperations and quick changes of
tactics though the understatedly choppy and repetitive dialogue. To contrast
the excellent performance of Mr. Roe, one can examine the part of John
Williamson, which was played by the young Irish actor John Cronin. Mr. Cronin’s
performance seemed to lack a certain sense of season when contrasted with his
fellow cast members, which also ironically parallels the situation his
character experiences in the play. Mr. Cronin played the young green office
manager well only in that his own lack of experience also seemed inadequate
when paired with the older acting talent in the production. His American
dialect, which seemed to stem from some stereotypical northern east coast
speech such as New York or Boston, seemed to even distract him from his own
action and pursuit of intention at times, blurring the relevance of his
dialogue and alienating the audience. His portrayal of John Williamson was
rightfully cocky and obnoxious, but lacked the vulnerability to complete the
other half of inferiority complex and would counter his bold behavior. In
addition, it seemed he lacked some of the most basic technical acting skills such
as genuine listening, which then informs how rehearsed a piece like this really
is, when that fact should be the farthest thing from an audience member’s mind
when trying to suspend disbelief.
The
technical aspects of the show were of good quality and highly consistent. The
set was particularly impressive in that it did just what a set should do: it
functioned safely and effectively for the actors without distracting or
detracting from the performance. This production also used their curtains very
effectively in the first act; between scenes, a single runner curtain would
move across the stage in a fluid motion, and the actors from the previous scene
would leave behind it while simultaneously the actors for the next scene would
be set behind it. Artistically, the set was not an impressive spectacle, yet it
consisted of so many significant small details that it clearly defined the
world of the play. Both set locations seen in this play were not over- or
understated, but functioned perfectly for the use of the action and actors. It
was the careful detail such as the china tea cup and duct tape on the booth in
the restaurant during the first half that made that location as real as can be.
The same can be said for the detail work in the real estate office: from the
dingy cement walls and the dirty, finger-printed glass door, to the dangling
fly strip and the grimy air conditioning vent. These small details are an
example of the careful thought that went into designing this set, and spoke
volumes to the audience about the world these characters lived in.
Mamet’s
Glengarry Glen Ross remains to be an American classic, one that withstands time
and interpretation, and location. It possesses an ability to be flexed and
stretched to take on new meaning across the world while still remaining a
topical and riveting piece of theatre. The Gate Theatre’s production presented
new meaning for the piece by setting it in America, but also producing it in
Ireland. This production still captured its unmistakably American theme, while
also shining some new light on the great beast of American capitalism and its
consequences around the globe. This was a dynamic and challenging production
that proved its relevance once again.
~Moni Wright
 |
| The author doing a mask workshop with Barabbas's Raymond Keane |
No comments:
Post a Comment