Jan
3rd
The Four Seasons - Arnold Wesker
By Luke Tudball
For Arnold Wesker it's turning out to be a pretty good year. And it's only March. Not only is he three-quarters of a century in age, but also newly a knight of the realm. On top of that, his classic play 'The Four Seasons' is being revived to celebrate it all by Version Theatre at the Arcola, in Hackney.
Wait a minute. It was going so well. Hackney did you say?
Oh. Ah well. (Such was my colleague's response to the invitation
to the first night).
I paused and thought, well what do I actually know about
that? As it turns out, not as much as I should, because despite
being one of London’s most deprived areas, Hackney has the
highest concentration of artists living anywhere in Europe; and
since September 2000, when Mehmet Ergen, Artistic Director of the
Arcola Theatre, converted an old textile factory into an arts
space, it has also been the home to the multi award-winning
Arcola Theatre, one of London's largest and most adaptable fringe
venues.
It's appropriately blustery en route, and so very nice to
reach the warm and welcoming bar, come cafe, come foyer of the
Arcola, bristling with excitement for what's to come, and made
all the more exotic by the aromas of nearby Turkish eateries. As
I wait, I remember that this play was originally staged with
Wesker himself directing a young Alan Bates and Diane Cilento,
and was not so well received by the critics. "It was the
first of my plays,'' wrote Wesker mournfully in later
years, "which appeared on stage not as I conceived
it.'' With this in mind, I was curious to see if the
play had weathered the years, still remained controversial, or
if, perhaps, it had mellowed with age and found its niche. It is,
after all, over thirty years old having been written in 1965 in
the midst of the 'angry young men', social realism and the
permissive society, a "humanist and lyrical hymn to the ephemeral
power of love".
The play itself neatly divides itself, as you would expect,
by four, with the lovers arriving in the winter, deciding to
commit one year to each other in a remote and deserted house, and
Adam trying to thaw Beatrice's speechless misery. Falling in love
in the spring, but by summer dredging up old arguments and
falling out of it again, only to part in the falling leaves of
autumn. And all of this, with pretty much no explanation or
background. But perhaps that's the point. The lovers, and the
audience, pushing themselves to their limits in an effort to
understand their limits.
As it goes, it's no mean feat, eighty odd minutes with no
interval and only two actors on stage, travelling the length and
breadth of their emotions, from joy and laughter, to tears and
anger, frustration and indifference. As the seasons change, the
lovers uncover painful truths about themselves. Hoping to break
free from the past and to start afresh, they push apart their
world to test the limits of their own relationship.
Richard Darbourne and Juliet Crawford, Adam and Beatrice,
handle the material well, and have certainly been well cast, but
at times, perhaps, try a little too hard to impress and deliver
Wesker's very wordy text. James Copp, who is currently education
and new writing manager at the King’s Head Theatre in Islington,
though, does a fine job of direction and there are some very nice
moments throughout, especially in the design of the piece (for
which special credit should be given to the creative team), which
has the cast literally unpacking their life from what seems like
an oversized dolls house, opening and closing the lid to portray
the passing of time, rather like a storybook.
All good stories though must come to an end and so does
this, but not in a way that leaves you satisfied. Rather, you are
left wondering if it's all worth the hassle. On balance, I think
it is, and although it's not the easiest or most central of
venues, the Arcola Theatre is worth the effort to find. Version
Theatre have taken on a big project here, and while at first
glance it looks a little like a new pair of shoes perhaps a size
too large, I think that with some wearing in, this will become a
very comfortable proposition for anyone willing to go the
distance.
______________________________________________
'The Four Seasons' runs until March 24, 2007
at the Arcola Theatre, 27 Arcola Street, London E8 2DJ
Tickets: £13 / £9 (concessions)
For more information call the Box Office on 0207-503-1646
or visit www.arcolatheatre.com
More information on Arnold Wesker can be found
at www.arnoldwesker.com
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