Bakehouse Theatre – Studio, Wed 20 Feb.
In Vienna’s City Park there is a grand
statue of Brahms depicting the composer as a grumpy old man. This new
work by Neil Salvage reinforces that view and goes some way to explain
why he became so grumpy. In what could be seen as just another tortured
artist scenario, albeit from the 19th Century, Brahms it
seems was the only person in Vienna at the time who didn’t like his own
music. Or so it appears at this party to celebrate the first performance
of his new violin concerto.
Rather than play the gracious guest of
honour Brahms spends much of his time drinking in a back room and
berating all who commend him on his achievements. Cycles of praise and
recrimination ensue between the composer, his publisher, violinist and
musical collaborator, old friend Clara Schumann, and an influential
critic. Bitter and resentful, Brahms seems intent on bringing everyone
down with him to wallow in misery and self-doubt.
All these various roles are masterfully
played by Salvage himself, Nicholas Collett – both eminent actors from
the UK stage, and local emerging artist, Stefanie Rossi. Having excerpts
of Brahms’ work played live added immediacy and context, but having the
violinist overplay her silent reactions to the dialogue unfolding
before her was a mistake. They need to be far more subtle.
Billed as a dark comedy, there’s not
much room here for laughter. Ironic smiles perhaps as we watch Brahms
himself try to reconcile being the author of the famous Lullaby with the angry person he’s become.
An entertaining play with solid acting
performances, and a really good way to learn something about Brahms the
person, and become (re)acquainted with his music.
(This review also published on The Clothesline.)
No comments:
Post a Comment