THEATRE REVIEWS

From the first line of The Real Thing, Tom Stoppard makes the audience reel with laughter, only to stop them short in confusion and start off again in a new direction, with a different perception of what is reality and what is not. It is hugely enjoyable as the bons mots and witticisms fly in classic Tom Stoppard style; challenging us to follow the sudden shift from one dimension to another; plays within plays, dialogue and action spiralling, back-tracking, leaping ahead, with numerous small sub-stories interwoven into the bigger theme of exploring what it means to love and be loved.

Director Tim Piggott-Smith keeps the small cast tightly knit and firing off each other throughout the first set, designed by Bob Bailey. Charlotte (Elizabeth Payne) and Max (Malcolm Stoddard) act out a scene of betrayal, only to discover some time later that the playwright, and her husband Henry, (Tom Conti) have been having an affair with Max's wife Annie, a very vivacious and sexy portrayal by Nina Young. The play then jumps two years and focuses on the love between Annie and Henry as she becomes more deeply involved in a campaign for justice for a rough and ready man accused of inciting violence. Of all the secondary characters, Steven Cree playing Brodie is the most robust and entertaining; newcomer Annabel Scholey as HenryÕs daughter Debbie and Tom Frederic as Billy give assured performances.

Henry states that it is hard to talk about love without being childish or rude, but where his character struggles, Stoppard is eloquent and powerful. The title begs the question of how much he is writing of his own experience, but ultimately what the audience understands is Stoppard's love of words. His exuberant word-play is a celebration of the joy and the skill of writing, illustrated by the transformation of Brodie's script, describing his prison experiences, into something polished and entertaining, hilariously unrecognisable to Brodie himself, whose mangled vocabulary and syntax lead Henry to despair of "louts with language".

The scenes are interspersed with pop songs from Barry White to Procul Harum, adding a not-so-subtle but very funny commentary on events. Despite an unusual amount of unscripted off-stage noises, fluffed lines and mobile phones ringing, this was an engaging and emotional performance that felt as if it had a musical rhythm of its own, deftly moving from comedy to intense feeling, puncturing its seriousness with light-hearted pop music, swelling in intensity as the drama builds.

Whilst concepts of justice, politics and patriotism are defined as illusions, the reality of Henry's suffering, commitment and pain is all too clear; he canot stop loving Annie, no matter what happens. The audience roots for him all the way until he finally finds out whether he gets a happy ending. © DOS

“The Real Thing” is in Richmond on the 26th September until the 1st of October, 2005.

Is there an Air Conditioning certificate prominently displayed in your theatre foyer stating the date of manufacture of the appliance and when the system was last inspected and serviced - if not, complain to the theatre management.