Tag Archives: Stephanie Street

“Deciphering” at the New Diorama Theatre

It’s easy to appreciate that theatre company curious directive’s show is the most technically ambitious staged at this super venue. The New Diorama is tiny and what Zoë Hurwitz’s set achieves is remarkable. Regrettably, for all director Jack Lowe’s efforts at making sure the show actually works, the piece itself achieves little.

Abseiling actors are just the start. With performers above and below a stage full of surprises, as well as projections and headphones to hear the show through, we are taken backwards and forwards through time. The story follows one woman, Elise, at different stages of life and takes us exploring in an Indonesian cave full of prehistoric symbols.

Lowe manages this time travelling well. A clear performance from Stephanie Street anchors the show and there is a particularly challenging role for a child (well done to Asha Sylvestre at the performance I attended). That the personal relations in Elise’s life are slim is a relatively small problem.

What Deciphering does with its ambition – its scope as well as execution – is disappointing. There’s an exploration of creativity and communication (in a classroom as well as a cave). But the thinking is woolly. On top of this, an investigation into time shows us different paths Elise could have taken in life. The ambition to visualize time on stage is impressive. But we end up with Sarita Gabony (our third Elise) dropping down on a rope and asking us what we want to be when we grow up. Identity seems to be all about your job as Elise suggests that instead of being a paleo-archaeologist, different “versions” of herself could be all manner of equally interesting and prestigious professions. Isn’t she lucky.

A very earnest young teacher, which Lewis Mackinnon can do little with but play, well…earnestly, and an irritable academic (great work from Amanda Hadingue) are the professionals who shape Elise’s life. But both characters are forced too close to cliché as they have to help or hinder Elise. There’s a strong sense of wonder when it comes to the symbols in the cave, which I suspect was the inspiration for the show: with Hurwitz’s help, the scene is a highlight. But Deciphering descends into platitudes. The show desperately wants to be profound. Forcing in personal growth for Elise, we conclude with the weak advice that “if you are brave you cannot fail”. I beg to differ.

Until 2 October 2021

www.newdiorama.com

Photo by Alex Brenner

“Behind The Beautiful Forevers” at the National Theatre

David Hare’s new play is an exemplary dramatisation of Katherine Boo’s non-fiction work about the slums of Mumbai. Hare squeezes the most theatrical moments out of Boo’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning reportage, preserving the clarity of voice and retaining the objective tone that gives the book such power. Boo’s research into the Annawadi slum, whose destitute inhabitants live off rubbish generated by the nearby airport, investigates poverty in an intelligent, non-patronising and thought-provoking manner. The book and stage show are glimpses into another world – horrifying and filled with tragedy, and yet full of life and hope.

Stephanie Street - Asha Waghekar, Meera Syal - Zehrunisa Husain Behind the Beautiful Forevers image by Richard Hubert Smith2
Stephanie Street as Asha Waghekar and Meera Syal as Zehrunisa Husain

A strong cast peoples the slum effectively. One surprise is how matrifocal society in Annawadi is. Stephanie Street plays Asha, a ruthless yet complex figure aiming to control the slum, with her own shocking take on the virtues of corruption. Victims abound, including the once relatively prosperous Hussain family, headed by Zehrunisa (Meera Syal gives a terrific performance), caught in the Indian legal system after the tragic machinations of their neighbour Fatima. Thusitha Jayasundera, who wonderfully doubles as a judge, takes the part of the crippled Fatima, who burns herself to death to spite the Hussains. A parallel tale of a girl so desperate that she drinks bleach shows the prevalence of suicide in the slum as an act of self-determination – grim exercises in defiance that come to haunt the stage.

Designer Katrina Lindsay recreates the spatchcock dwellings with bold economy. Director Rufus Norris marshals activity to recreate the energy of the environment and especially among its younger inhabitants: Sunil, who becomes a thief despite the dangers, and the innocent Abdul, whose brush with the law makes him want to become ever more virtuous. Further strong performances here from Hiran Abeysekera and Shane Zaza in these roles. As Norris’ first project at the National since the announcement that he is to succeed Nicholas Hytner, Behind The Beautiful Forevers is an exciting choice. Norris uses the Olivier auditorium with confidence, revelling in its scale. More importantly, he and Hare have created one of those works of theatre that strike you as something everyone should see.

Until 13 April 2015

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Photos by Richard Hubert Smith