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Oliver Rowse’s one act play Udder is a rather absurd tragi-comedy. Leslie and Margaret’s son Gerald has a serious addiction to the ‘white stuff’, and it’s tearing his family apart. Gerald can’t help himself and slurps and licks and gorges himself on milk at every opportunity, which is not only illegal (punishable by trampling to death by a cow) but threatens to bring great shame to the family. After one particularly sensual and satisfying midnight satiation, Gerald finds himself unable to speak properly, which is diagnosed by Dr. Lackley as a permanent (and common) side effect of milk addiction. Unfortunately for Gerald, Dr. Lackley must report his addiction to the authorities, which does not end well. Brilliantly written, if a perhaps a bit zany, Udder lampoons the dark side of middle class family life. The absurd fantasy world Rowse creates, where milk addiction is illegal, is well thought out and somehow believable. There are some great one liners, which left the audience in stitches. Despite the farce, there are some genuinely tragic moments where the mother and sister bend to the controlling ways of the father, and poor Gerald is left to suffer a cruel fate. Some may find the nature of Gerald’s milk consumption a bit uncomfortable, particularly the feigned suckling from an udder, and his ecstatic dousing himself with a pint. However, it does serve to elicit empathy with the family’s shame. The choice of the family to protect their reputation rather than help their son is a cruel, but not unrealistic one. Rowse, with the help of the actors, manages to keep these sentiments genuine. Matthew Monaghan as Gerald is slightly terrifying but ‘udderly’ convincing as an addict, and his parents Richard Holland (Leslie) and Ed Pearce (Margaret) are equally good. Amelia Patterson as sister Susan is heartbreakingly defeated. Generally it was quite a strong student cast. Udder is at the Burton Taylor from the 19th through the 22nd of May, but only the Saturday show still has tickets available. Kate Bottriell (Unverified), 20/05/09 |
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