Look Back In Anger

Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne

More than half a century after making its debut on the West End stage, Look Back In Anger is being revived by Northern Stage but the play, which was extremely influential in the 50s, now seems stale and irrelevant.

Hailed as one of the first of the ‘kitchen sink dramas’ and, arguably, introducing theatre-goers to the concept of ‘the angry young man’, it was undoubtedly a trailblazer.

Today, though, audiences are more discerning. With the advent of television drama, soap opera’s in particular, we have been offered a multitude of gritty, hard-hitting plays and serials. This has enabled us to decide for ourselves which, we feel, reflects reality most successfully.

John Osborne’s play, although hugely influential in its own time, nowadays appears dated and plodding. The central character, Jimmy Porter, has no qualities which might encourage an audience to engage with him. He is bullying, belittling and boorish. That alone is bad enough, but director Erica Whyman has completely miscast the role with Coronation Street actor Bill Ward.

To begin with, Ward is the wrong age – Jimmy Porter is supposed to be a man in his twenties yet Ward is in his early forties. This does significantly diminish the possibility of audiences suspending disbelief and it also affects the success of the character, too. Ward does little to help himself, either. For some reason, his diction is strange and sometimes unintelligible.

Rob Storr, as lodger Cliff, was equally unsuccessful and delivered a performance that contained as much charisma as a slice of Ryvita crispbread. His lines were delivered in a dull, lifeless and monotone manner that made the dialogue seem even less pacey.

Nia Gwynne, as Alison, did manage to convey some emotional depth in her portrayal of Porter’s put-upon wife. It was only Laura Howard who added any real interest to the piece and she did her level best to breathe life into a dying beast of a play.

I, personally, would question the decision to revive such a depressing production in the midst of an economic recession and, perhaps, the fact that the theatre was fairly empty may be an endorsement of this. Not the most enjoyable three-and-a-quarter hours of my life, by any stretch of the imagination.

Steve Burbridge.

Look Back In Anger runs until Saturday 21^st March 2009