Naked Justice

At the Playhouse until 3rd March

Righteous justice (Nicolas Jones) and justice as mercy (Leslie Phillips) battle over the fate of a 17 year old black boy, Byron (Jimmy Akingbola), accused of murdering his mother's lover but who may, or may not, have been framed by the police. Amusing, if clichéd, characters and a lot of talk about sex and buggery make Naked Justice a fast paced and humorous play with occasional moments of poignant insight.

Big budget and big name, there is more than a hint of TV in this play. Most of the actors have at least one TV crime series in their extensive biographies and the especially designed sound (by Mic Pool) and luxurious set at times lean more towards television than theatre. Pool has done well : the sound is often striking, especially in the opening arrest scene and when the defence go with Byron to the cells to wait for the jury's verdict. The set comes into its own in the second half : the courtroom and the lounge where the lawyers' retreat are superimposed upon each other, so that the location you are in depends on the lighting - an ingenious and thought provoking design. The television aspect is built in, albeit somewhat awkwardly, in the form of two slide-on, slide-off table and chair arrangements at either side of the front of the stage. These allow the audience to catch momentary glimpses of conversations taking place in bars or in prison But while their content is often interesting, inevitably this cutting from scene to scene doesn't work quite so well on the stage as it does in film.

As you would expect from such an experienced cast, all the actors put in strong performances. Leslie Phillips' Fred is easily the most intrinsically interesting character, well written and acted with great humanity. Anna Carteret's Elspeth is also deserving of special mention in this respect. Taken as a whole, however, the cast seemed to lack a certain group dynamic. Perhaps this reflects a weakness in the writing: the black criminal ; the camp butler ; the fraudulent, boyish lover ; retributive justice from the ambitious outsider ; mercy from the established judicial class ; all of these stereotypes are present and complete in themselves but they fail to connect effectively, lacking nuance and strength and inhibiting any effective character development. Nevertheless, this was a pacey, sleek production and the audience laughter frequent and audible. Whatever reservations you might have about the finer points of Naked Justice, the play makes for an enjoyable evening.

Emily Wood
27.02.01