Young Vic – The Cultural Exposé

Something you should see… The Suit

Jane Duru — Mon, 28 May 2012 10:00:27 +0000

Living in London, it’s rare that you feel you’re missing out. Occasionally, you may just wish you were somewhere else, like when your favourite band is on a tour that forgot to include the capital, or when there’s a world-class exhibition happening on the other side of the Atlantic which has no intention of transferring. Thankfully, that feeling is rare; indeed the mountain comes to Mohammed quite a lot.

That’s especially true with theatre: case in point – The Suit. After receiving rave reviews for its run in Paris’s Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, acclaimed theatre director Peter Brooks is bringing his highly anticipated musical version of Can Themba’s short story to be performed at Young Vic as part of the World Stages season.

Set against the backdrop of apartheid in 1950s South Africa, The Suit revolves around the story of a young man who finds his wife in bed with her lover. The lover flees, leaving behind only his suit but instead of inflicting a normal punishment, the husband decides upon an unusual course of revenge; the suit must be treated as if it were an honoured guest – taken for walks, fed at the dinner table, entertained. Its presence serves as a daily reminder of the wife’s betrayal and shame, but the outcome of this treatment is one that will have the audience questioning sacred notions of cruelty and oppression. Definitely one to watch. (Words: Jane Duru)

The Suit runs at the Young Vic, 26 May – 16 June. For more info: www.youngvic.org/whats-on/the-suit

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Something you should see…One for The Road/Victoria Station

The Cultural Exposé — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:00:27 +0000

One for the Road is a powerful study of the horror of individual lives at the mercy of a dictatorship. It recounts the interrogation of Victor, his wife and their seven year old son, at the hands of a brutal government. Pinter was inspired to write the play in 1984 after meeting two young Turkish women who enraged him with their casual indifference to the use of torture in their country. This provocative short play set the tone for his later overtly political work. Pinter performed the role of Nicolas in 2001 at The Gate, Dublin and on Broadway…

New Notting Hill venue The Print Room joins forces with the Young Vic to stage a compelling double bill of Pinter’s One for the Road and his macabre black comedy Victoria Station. This is the first time the two plays have been staged as a double bill since their premiere in 1984 at the Lyric Hammersmith.

In Victoria Station a minicab controller is in a rage with one of his drivers. He is outraged that his orders are ignored – but the driver is distracted by something mysterious and worrying. In this unsettling comic vignette Pinter reveals the frustration and anger in a struggle for power between a dispatcher and his disobedient driver…

…To read the rest, click here to visit West End Wendy’s blog, westendwendyblog.blogspot.com – The Life And Times Of A London Theatre Fan.

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