James Bounds' production of The Zoo Story opens to the sound
of various unidentifiable animals, and a visual extravaganza of nothing
more than a vague city skyline washed with slowly changing lighting for
what seemed much too long; some might say it continues in much the same
vein for the next 52 minutes
Edward Albee's extraordinary story
of 2 men's conversation one sunny afternoon in Central Park, New York
is a tight, pacy script that provides a wealth of opportunity for 2 actors
to fill an audience with laughter, fear and horror. With the exception
of a handful of moments on the first night, that just didn't happen.
Peter (Jason Wool) is a publishing executive, pipe smoker, family man
and Sunday afternoon reader whose quiet literary explorations are disturbed
one day by the arrival of Jerry (Spencer Wong): 'permanent transient',
rooming house dweller, minutiae observer and canine anthropologist. Jerry's
tales of his room, his landlady, her dog, his relations with his family
and 'the little ladies' cannot fail to engage, and Wong does a passable
job of communicating Jerry's pent up frustration & fascinations. He
has a strong voice, and it is a shame that we rarely get to hear it properly
- regrettable that many of the most moving passages are shouted unintelligibly
and Albee's delightful throw-away witticisms are all just thrown away.
Wool plays the unremarkable Peter unremarkably, but fails to make the
transition from slightly irritated reader to territorial animal convincing.
Both actors fail to wholly connect with the text - miscomprehensions and
mispronunciations leave an audience confused as to the motives and messages
of this powerful play - whatever Bounds sought to communicate as director
was beyond me.
Costume is unimaginative, and fails to place the action in any particular
place or time - it is western, but neither contemporary nor contemporaneous
with the script. The accents used by the 2 actors do not place us anywhere
near New York, and their vagueness is a reflection of a general lack of
precision, both of interpretation and performance. This is a terrific
script, and laughs were raised by the enthusiasm of the actors in performance.
If you're a fan of Albee, this is unlikely to please you; if you've never
heard of him before, it's well worth a cautious look.
James Dare, 20.05.03
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