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Daniel Deronda Director: Rob Croser Odeon Theatre, Sat 24 July - Sat 7 August  Those
fond of flowery Victorian speech, graces and costumes are in for a
surprise: the plot framework of George Eliot's 1875, 'Daniel Deronda'
is notable for its exposure of Victorian anti-Semitism. This aspect
of human functioning has been extracted and placed in the setting
of 1933 Berlin, just before the full horrors of the Third Reich are
revealed.Writer/Director Rob Croser has effectively cropped the play and introduced new dialogue and new scenes. Croser utilises Deronda (Dai Davison) as a tool to frame the play. Deronda switches skilfully from narrator to actor, which omits much of the bulk required to value the narrative, avoiding lengthy explanation and unnecessary set changes. These transitions are supported beautifully by the two leading women, Gwyndolyn, played by Alexandra Ruffin and Mirah (Hannah Moore), and all three are convincing. Davison embodies the young Deronda's psychological richness and yearning for a sense of his real ancestry. Similarly, Ruffin exemplifies Gwyndolyn's head strong nature and flawed choices with pure grace. Equally convincing is Moore, as the poor but talented Jewish opera singer and Darren Paul as Heinrich Grunberg, Gwyndolyn's dominating, wealthy and 'land-and-titled' husband. The tastefully selected costumes and music ooze of the era, balancing the simple set. As I looked through the program after the show I realised that many of the actors have doubled as other characters. This goes completely unnoticed, yet again due to the clever make up and costuming. The music selection has also been contemplated imaginatively and ties into the play effectively: Haydn's music provides some ambience in the early scenes and later features powerfully (when the same piece becomes the national anthem of Germany) to represent the onset of Aryanism. Nick Bennett as Mordecai is acutely convincing but only narrowly escapes the clichˇd tone of the 'wise one,' speaking sagely to Deronda. However these longer than necessary sermons are more of a script issue than an acting flaw. Croser also manages to dodge other obvious repetition depicted in previous Nazi Germany settings by choosing to stay present to the heart of the story, Deronda's journey, rather than emphasising the inevitable horrors that await. Emotionally moving is the climax of the play due to the aristocratic bearing of Leonora Halm-Eberstein's character played with such restraint and sensitivity by Pam O'Grady. Overall, an enjoyable and highly energetically contained play which succeeded in holding my attention for the three hour duration.  |
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