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| Coward's pre-war play is hauled struggling into the modern
era by Anomie Productions in an attempt to keep the theme relevant to a
modern audience. A noble effort, but hard to achieve as the dialogue's rhythm,
tone and content fix it exactly in an age where psychoanalysis and irony
were relatively new weapons.
Meanwhile, friends and lovers Gilda, Otto and Leo stamp their values and approach to their lives out on stage through Coward's trademark verbal sparring - accusations, retorts, subtle and not-so-subtle digs, self-questioning and self-obsession are all in plentiful supply here as the three try to manage their complex relationships free of the social conventions and repressive attitudes they find so stifling. Director Hugh Montgomery attempts to get beyond the verbal sparring and clever ripostes to reveal the play's heart as a 'moving drama' dealing with the timeless themes of love and betrayal. This wasn't entirely convincing as this is essentially a play of words and the constant streams of them have the effect of obscuring whatever true feeling may lie at the play's heart. The first act sets up the crisis. Gilda betrays Otto by sleeping with their mutual friend Leo causing Otto to disappear from their circle. Then, just as Leo and Gilda are themselves running into relational difficulties, Otto reappears and succeeds without much effort in turning the tables and putting Leo through the same emotions he went through previously. This sets the scene for a three-hour play including two intervals. The main players circle the lounge set in continual wearily self-perpetuating arguments trying to define their modus operandi to themselves. These periods of intense dialogue cry out for moments of relief and resolution which are sometimes a long time coming. (This after all is a Coward play!) But today's audiences are used to action, and the long stretches of unproductive dialogue would benefit from livening up - more drama, emphasis and pacing in the direction and more meaningful movement on stage to divert the brain as the characters dig endlessly into their own psyches. Verbal play without much movement requires tremendous dramatic energy to sustain interest. And this production, especially during the second act, challenges our attention span. There is a sense that the main players are drowning in the sea of verbiage mid-play. Otto (and Coward too presumably) seems to realise the audience's predicament in Act II with his outburst, 'So many words! That's what's wrong with us!' He is 'sick of this battling of our little egos in one another's faces!' At this point the audience seemed sick of it too but fortunately the actors rallied, dragging the play out of the mire for an absorbing third act. Anomie Productions' attempt to bring Design for Living into the modern age is a brave attempt, with energetic and committed performances, and it partly succeeds. But the verbal merry-go-round is slow to get to the point and several times threatens to run adrift on endless meandering dialogue before being redeemed by a decisive and more buoyant final act.
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