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Drama

Review: 'Vatslav'

By Slawomir Mrozek

Directed at Unity

By Phil Mann.

Slawomir Mrozek's 'Vatslay' is a play that must be seen to be believed. Polish theatre is renowned for its experimental and innovative nature, and Mrozek's play is a gem. 'Vatslay' appears as an amalgam of theatrical forms and styles, embracing Shakespeare (Python?) Brecht with touches of 'Peer Gynt,' 'Ubu Roi' and strains of the modern Polish Theatre Tradition. What is undoubtedly intended as an historial and political reflection of Polish society becomes a reflection of all societies. With its tautological dissertations on the nature of providence, law and social behaviour, this allegorical farce announces clearly that the age of miracles is over. We are here on our own standing on the shores of the Red Sea without without a Moses, or a providence to 'shape our ends.'

All through this witty play, Mrozek's leaders are either blind, morally bankrupt or self-seeking, and as far as 'the people' (an obvious cliche) are concerned — useless. In fact the self-styled 'leaders' are not even people, but personified animals. Mr Bat (Brian Jewitt) the capitalist literally sucks the blood of 'the people.' represented in this play by Sassafras and Quil (who is not a bird, but a man), a couple of yokels and idiots into the bargain. But in the tradition of the fools and mad, their view of society is perhaps the clearest. They will always be on the bottom, come what may.

Vatslay himself (Terence Nonweiler) is an opportunist, like the rest of us, determined to reap as many material benefits from life as he can. He is an escaped slave at the beginning of the play, hires himself out as a bear, and eventually becomes an entrepreneur and property owner. The Genius (Malcolm George) has a great many noble sounding ideas, but is completely without practical intelligence. He ends the play as an enbalmed (Lenin?) standard carried by the invading army of General Barbaro (Jeff Thomas.) This invasion is an enforced 'liberation,' but of course the military solution leaves every one no better off than before. Historically the play is tied to Europe. Thematically the situation could have universal application.

This production had a great deal of promise, but unfortunately its quality was marred by some unexpectedly loose direction and uneven acting. Scenes that were disciplined . . . the interrogation of Oedipus Rex by General Barbaro for instance, contrasted noticeably with lesser scenes that had gone before. This tended to break up the play into scenes as scripted, rather than preserve flowing unity. The set was flimsy, and with 77 odd scenes to handle in Unity's restrictive space, something far more substantial was needed for its staging. However, what the production lacked in staging effects was compensated for by Rod McKenzie's original electronic and sound effects core.

Terence Nonweiler was a competent Vatslay bringing to the part energy and a certain charm, but marked by fussiness which gave the impression that he was not at ease in his role, In places he resorted to a declamatory style out of keeping with the rest of the production. Shona McLean's Mrs Bat was a gallant attempt at a difficult part. It's not easy to engage in monological conversation with a pet wooden dog, but she did not immerse herself deeply enough in the character to appear convincing. The Mrs Bat we saw was only skin deep; Brian Jewitt was a stiff, wooden Mr Bat lacking poise and preferring to act from the larynx up.

The actors who did stand out were those who had instilled conviction, a sense of reality and purpose into their characterisations. Bruce Tidswell was a delightful little boy with hoop, moustache and sailor suit, making a creditable transformation from little boy to bear. Thomas Main waring's Quail, a distinctly in-bred looking yokel, was an example of how effective a characterisation can be if sustained by physical and mental conviction. Andrew Dungan showed up up well in small but technically demanding roles. One of the startling characterisations was provided by Jeff (the Voice) Thomas as General Barbaro, who nearly stole the rear end of the show with his mastery of deadpan understatement.

Phil Mann's production cannot be described as exciting theatre. There were a few too many flaws for that, but it is competent and provides a good evening's theatre. On opening night, the cast looked as if they were enjoying themselves too much, dissipating the level of concentration necessary to make the play work successfully. It was a pity that everything wasn't right for the opening, but the production should tighten and mature as it moves through its season. Mrozek's work is not well known in this country and hopefully people will take the opportunity to acquaint themselves with his unique brand of theatre. The season ends on May 1.

— Richard Mays.