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 | Frozen Space Theatre Wed 6 July until Sat 23 July The poster photograph of a dark-haired, tattooed and bearded man with a young girl clutching him around the waist takes on a whole new sick and sinister meaning after seeing the play. Writing this review the day after the opening, I have yet to thaw out from 'Frozen': the inconsolable grief of the victim's mother and the inhumanity of the perpetrator still dog me. British playwright Bryony Lavery spent a lifetime writing comedies and reviews before she switched to subjects like 'Hamlet' from Ophelia's perspective, and another about the cannibalism of concubines entombed alive with their deceased Chinese emperor (charming topic). 'Frozen' won London's Barclay Award for Best New Play of 1998 and it plucked her out of obscurity. Lavery goes for the jugular by creating a triumvirate of psychological extremes comprising a pedophiliac serial murderer, a victim's mother who grieves for twenty years, and a troubled criminal psychologist. Although the play explores the nature versus nurture debate using some over-detailed scientific revelations, the effect of the crime on the victim's family, and the mother's harrowing journey toward insincere forgiveness and its ironic consequence, it was an experience I didn't need to have. There is really nothing new revealed regarding these issues and the whole effect was like another al-Qaida attack with its associated feelings of helplessness, senseless waste and fright. The horror is simply served up once again with predictable banality, and we watch like useless voyeurs as this sad story is once again repeated without the benefit of dramatic tension or revealing insight. Within this cliched framework, Lavery has written some remarkable characters that are chillingly real. Nick Pelomis as the killer played a man of few words but conveyed plenty in his intonation and movement. He eased into our consciousness by resembling the stereotype and provided creepy vignettes of the killer's modus operandi and his incapacity for remorse or compassion - Ralph's victims were objectified as mere amusements and diversions. Bravo! Carmel Johnson as the mother pushed all the right buttons and effectively conveyed the impact of the murder on Nancy, the mother, and her other daughter - an unseen but vivid character brought to life by Johnson. Annabel Giles played the psychologist convincingly on the verge of her own breakdown. Theatre-in-the-round just didn't work. Gaelle Mellis' superbly designed and constructed floor-piece comprising large tiles making a composite picture of the young female victim made no sense to me from my perspective in the front row opposite the theatre entrances - it was upside down and impossible to interpret. Theatre-in-the-round is terrific with several characters moving about like boxers in the ring, but the first eleven scenes of 'Frozen' were monologues, and the actors had to work hard rotating and pivoting to be periodically accessible to all sides. In the dialogues, the actors barely moved - I didn't see Pelomis' face at all during the entire climactic meeting between the crim and the mother - likewise for those across from me during the final scene between the psychologist and the psycho. And I'm sure Giles' gyrating butt during her lengthy a cappella version of Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey was a real treat for the front row immediately behind her. The programme notes made more than interesting reading - especially Myk Mykyta's frank discussion of the play and his experience with the real thing. This was unfortunately counterpoised with a couple of crummy cross sections of the human brain, taken off the Internet without much thought. 'Frozen' makes a strong impact - obviously - it's a no-holds-bared examination of the entrails of the issue. But with seemingly unending reports about everything from hit-and-run killer drivers to attacks on the London tube, unless the playwright has some contribution besides a dramatised repeat - spare me.  | |
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