musicOMH.com
theatre reviews
The Lower Depths
Finborough Theatre, London, until 9 June 2007
3 stars
The Lower Depths
Photograph: Marilyn Kingwill

directed by
Phil Willmott

buy scripts
The works of Maxim Gorky are currently enjoying an upturn in popularity at the moment. The National Theatre is about to stage a major new production of his early play Philistines, but first up we have a staging of his engaging social drama, The Lower Depths at Earls Court’s intimate Finborough Theatre.

The play is presented in a new version, written and directed by Phil Willmott. His adaptation is supremely easy to engage with, packed as it is with black humour and amusing, if occasionally rather incongruous, earthy language.

Written in 1902, The Lower Depths is set in a provincial Russian doss-house inhabited by those on the lowest rungs of the social ladder: alcoholics, gamblers, prostitutes. Oh, and actors. Or at least one former actor, but his life, like the other characters, has been blighted by debt, drink and the crushing weight of poverty.

The play begins with the death of a young woman, who, after a life of hardship and want, has finally lost the will to fight anymore – this sets the tone for what follows, the plight of the characters feels horribly, inescapably, hopeless, and any occasional glimpses of revolutionary fervor are usually swiftly stamped out.

The dosshouse is presided over by Olga, the sharp-tongued and hard-hearted landlady and her unseen but violent husband. Even the landlady’s sister, Natasha, is not spared his wrath – she is often beaten and forced to do all the work in this miserable place.

A little light is shone into these characters’ lives by the arrival of a wise old vagrant whose tales offer them hope, something to cling on to, albeit only for a short while. But his stories are ultimately only stories, not enough to solve these people’s problems. Even Natasha’s tentative relationship with a charismatic thief called Vassily seems doomed.

The intimate Finborough space has also been made to feel suitably murky and smoky, and Wilmott’s large ensemble cast acquit themselves well. There are strong performances all round, particularly from Olivia McDonald as the hard-eyed Olga and Richard Gofton as the elderly but enigmatic traveler, Luka. Andrew Colley is also memorable as a drifter who insists he is really a Baron and was once served coffee and cream in bed each morning; as is Ursula Mohan as a cackling widow – a mother figure of sorts to this odd group.

Despite its bleak premise this is a compelling production. Though his overuse of contemporary cuss-words can grate, Willmott has successfully brought out the play’s still-relevant message about the effects of extreme poverty on the human spirit to create an interesting and gripping piece of theatre.

- Sam Harris

  share with:  Facebook | Digg | other sites





latest london theatre reviews:
Gob Squad's Kitchen, Soho Theatre, London
Chu Chin Chow, Finborough Theatre, London
Nocturne, Almeida Theatre, London
Street Scene, Young Vic, London
The Female Of The Species, Vaudeville, London
Zorro - The Musical, Garrick Theatre, London
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Open Air, London
Hangover Square, Finborough Theatre, London

latest new york theatre reviews:
[title of show], Lyceum Theatre
Damn Yankees, City Center
Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, Broadway Theatre

theatre features:
Interview: Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Preview: Camden Fringe
Interview: Clifford Samuel

cast recordings:
Passing Strange
In The Heights
A Catered Affair

more theatre reviews:
Moonlight And Magnolias, Tricycle Theatre, London
The Last Maharajah, Hoxton Hall, London
The Frontline, Globe Theatre, London
The Tailor And Ansty, Old Red Lion, London
Unstated, Southwark Playhouse, London
Free Outgoing, Royal Court, London
High School Musical, Hammersmith Apollo, London
The Mighty Boosh Festival, Hop Farm, Kent
Black Watch, Barbican Theatre, London
BUY THEATRE TICKETS
NOW IN THEATRE
RECENTLY AT THE FINBOROUGH
THEATRE:
Love Child, by Joanna Murray-Smith

THEATRE:
Fanny And Faggot, by Jack Thorne

EXTERNAL LINKS
Finborough Theatre



  more theatre reviews...
about us | staff | write to us | mailing list | copyright | home page

© 1999-2008 OMH. all rights reserved