Current location:opinions >>
Feeble, sophomoric and paper
opinions3923People have gathered around
IntroductionAn Enemy Of The People (Duke of York’s Theatre, London)Verdict: More likely to make us demand our mo ...
An Enemy Of The People (Duke of York’s Theatre, London)
Verdict: More likely to make us demand our money back than it is to send us rushing to the barricades.
The last time I saw Matt Smith live on stage, he chased down a super-sized moth that had dared to invade his space mid performance at the Royal Court Theatre in Chelsea.
The former Doctor Who, who also played Prince Philip in the Crown, is therefore nothing if not an exciting and unpredictable showman.
I’m sorry to report, however, that this does not so much apply to his eagerly anticipated return to live theatre. He is wasted on a piece of sophomoric, paper-thin agit-prop that’s more likely to make us demand our money back than it is to send us rushing to the barricades.
The actor with the famously vulpine features is taking the lead role of Doctor Stockmann in a feeble modern day updating of Henrik Ibsen’s great 19th-century indictment of institutional corruption in a Norwegian spa town where the water has been polluted.
Matt Smith is wasted on a piece of sophomoric, paper-thin agit-prop that’s more likely to make us demand our money back than it is to send us rushing to the barricades.
The actor is taking the lead role of Doctor Stockmann in a feeble modern day updating of Henrik Ibsen’s great 19th-century indictment of institutional corruption
Directed by German avant-gardist Thomas Ostermeier, it is set among a group of the town’s middle class, ‘wokey cokey liberals’ who have identified civilisation as ‘clinically dead’.
Such snarling propaganda is better suited to a student union than the West End, and with most remaining tickets priced at £100-£200, the real swindle is on Smith’s legions of faithful young fans.
The first thing that greets them in the theatre is a bar selling Veuve Clicquot champagne. Yet that hasn’t stopped the fragile pretence that the show is a fist shaken at fat cats and vested interests.
After the interval - when the blackboard set, painted with cartoon hieroglyphics, has been spattered in white paint during an ersatz display of defiance - the production turns into a political protest meeting. Smith steps up with a class-war diatribe, in which he proclaims ‘society deserves its extinction’.
As becomes apparent from the Question Time style involvement of the audience (yes, there is voluntary audience participation), feelings of powerlessness and despair at the future are real concerns for many young people.
But all they get here is flimsy moral dilemmas, as Smith’s doctor comes into conflict with his brother the Mayor (Paul Hilton), defender of the fictional town’s economic interests.
Said town is, moreover, in the grip of a serious epidemic of nepotism. Not only has the brother secured Doctor Stockmann’s job, Smith’s wife (Jessica Brown Findlay) is the daughter of a gruff Yorkshire industrialist (Nigel Lindsay) who makes a handful of appearances with an inexplicable Alsatian dog.
And no less cliquishly, Smith and his Mrs are part of a David Bowie and Oasis cover-band who rehearse in his home with the editor and leading writer of the local paper.
He is wasted on a piece of sophomoric, paper-thin agit-prop that’s more likely to make us demand our money back than it is to send us rushing to the barricades
(L to R) cast members Zachary Hart, Paul Hilton, Matt Smith, Jessica Brown Findlay, Nigel Lindsay, Priyanga Burford and Shubham Saraf
Directed by German avant-gardist Thomas Ostermeier, it is set among a group of the town’s middle class, ‘wokey cokey liberals’ who have identified civilisation as ‘clinically dead’
Nor is there any test of Smith’s acting. Placidly sitting through a public character assassination by his brother when things go bad, he loafs about the stage in designer jeans and sweat shirt, muttering about his unimpeachable integrity and getting spattered with paint balls when the town turns against him.
Personally, I didn’t turn against him, because I couldn’t get behind him in the first place.
There are audible sniggers from Whovians when one character tells him he’s a brilliant doctor, and although that may have been true when he was up against the Daleks, here he’s just roadkill for the play’s evil capitalist cronies.
Smith’s Doctor Thomas Stockmann comes into conflict with his brother the Mayor (Paul Hilton), defender of the fictional town’s economic interests
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Global Gathering news portal”。http://bahrain.quotesbonanza.com/content-32a799958.html
Related articles
Angel Reese's WNBA debut ends in defeat
opinionsAngel Reese's WNBA debut ended in defeat as she scored 12 points for the Chicago Sky in a 87-79 loss ...
【opinions】
Read moreConstruction Begins on Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum in Xinjiang
opinionsContact Us HomeNewsHighlightACWF NewsSocietyWom ...
【opinions】
Read more(China Economic Roundtable) Chinese Economy Sees Hard
opinionsContact Us HomeNewsHighlightACWF NewsSocietyWom ...
【opinions】
Read more
Popular articles
- Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities
- Students Seek Stability in Jobs, Not Flexibility
- Students Seek Stability in Jobs, Not Flexibility
- Hexi District Offers Convenient Reading Service to Readers in N China's Tianjin
- Suspended Argonauts QB Chad Kelly withdraws from camp, citing desire to minimize distractions
- China Focus: PLA Navy's Founding Anniversary Commemorated with Public Celebrations
Latest articles
Chasing Amy: How Marisa Abela became Amy Winehouse for 'Back to Black'
Moxibustion Treatment Picking up During Heat Waves
Tourism Booms Across China As 5
Tibetan Kids Tour Beijing for Children's Day
Hawaii native Savannah Gankiewicz crowned Miss USA after the previous winner resigned
Across China: Slow Train Provides Mobile Library Along Yangtze River
LINKS
- UK sanctions Iran's leading military figures, entities
- Red Stars win at Reign. Angel City tops Courage for its first home win of the year
- Former senior policy advisor to Obama White House charged with child sex offences in British court
- China's new Hugo Award winner draws inspiration from history and traditional culture
- Lauren Sanchez 'begged Kellyanne Conway for help with her public image when they met at a party'
- Prosecutors to make history with opening statements in hush money case against Trump
- Japan helicopter crash: Flight data show no sign of mechanical failure
- Chinese defense ministry refutes validity of Taiwan Strait's median line
- Airport near volcano reopens as Indonesia lowers eruption alert level
- China's new high