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Duck Variations The Kitten Factory Star Theatres (Theatre Two) Season closed It's a brave move to take on and present a production like David Mamet's 'Duck Variations'. Unfortunately, while the play's wistful ramblings do eventuate in a worthwhile, though somewhat airy conclusion, entertainment-wise I found my mind constantly straying elsewhere, therefore possibly missing out on some of the finer nuances of wit contained within. With the main premise being two men sitting on a park bench over 14 short scenes and absurdly reflecting and pseudo-philosophising on matters of history and the universe, often as seen through the life and ways of a duck, it would go without saying that the effective delivery of the dialogue is essential to maintain the interest of the audience. Here however, I found the players to be more antagonistic with their approach rather than simply being miserably disagreeable and quietly grumpy. One wonders if this was more to do with the fact that they chose to enact the much younger attitudes of the actors' real ages rather than the two elderly gents in the original script. So instead of relating to these two characters, and in turn feeling compelled to join in on their constant barrage of debate and to take a side, I just thought much of their effort and continual banter became grating. Having said that, 'Duck Variations' is not a play that's easy to win over an audience with, so these guys did well to uphold the interest they did. |
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