Monday, July 8, 2013

If Only Review

If Only
Minerva Theatre, Chichester

Following the success of The Pajama Game, the Chichester Festival continues with what is unfortunately a dud. If Only is set during two periods. The first act takes place in 2010, following the first televised prime ministerial debate and the eruption of Mount Eyjafjallajokull. Three MPs are stuck in Spain and they decide to travel back to the UK in a car. Most of the remainder of the first act is taken up by their speculation en route as to the whether a hung parliament is imminent discussions as to how a coalition would be created. Having successfully arrived back in the UK, the second act jumps to the 100th anniversary of WWI in 2014. By this date UKIP have become a strong party, and a discussion between the three MPs turns to the possibility of the Conservatives forming a second coalition with UKIP after the 2015 election.

Playwright David Edgar aimed to write a political comedy but the result is mediocre. What we get are three main characters who are nothing but cardboard representatives of their parties. They relay nothing but some verbose and dense conversations on politics, giving numerous theories on what will happen at the 2010 election, even though we already know the results. What this lacked was political wit. When the funniest comment you could think up is about an apostrophe you are in trouble. After all the disappointment, perhaps the play displays some warmth in the second act as the three MPs discover some humanity. They come to the conclusion that politics is an "arms race to the gutter", but it is too little too late. The characters basically feel one dimensional.

Not that the cast was bad. Martin Hutson as Gordon Brown's advisor, Sam, tries to hold onto any integrity he has left. Jamie Glover as Peter is a proud, smug and discerning Conservative, but during the second act he comes off his high horse as he jadedly relates the possible situation with UKIP. The same goes for Charlotte Lucas as Liberal Democrat, Jo. Hers is the highlight performance as she tries to ignore the possibility that the Conservatives would abandon her party. Eve Ponsonby was adequate as college student, Hannah. However if David Edgar thinks everyone in my generation speaks with the word "like" in every sentence, then he is much mistaken. I almost felt embarrassed for the poor actress.

The simple set consists of screens at the back that show images representing different locations during the journey in Act 1. Occasionally they are raised to reveal other set pieces behind, including a Peugeot 205. On a revolving stage the car and other props turn around, which kept certain scenes moving. So, "like", If Only is full of one-note characters and political jargon that, "like", only make me titter. Maybe there are a few moments of, "like", morality, and the cast do the best they can with the script. But this is a pretty forgettable play and should only be seen at, "like", a Restricted View.

No comments:

Post a Comment