Aristocrats (Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold)

Pic: Catherine Ashmore

Archive: This review was first published on September 25, 2013 by the Daily Post

When I walked into the Emlyn Williams Theatre at Clwyd Theatr Cymru for the press night of the latest adaptation of Brian Friel's 1979 play Aristocrats, possibly the last thing I expected to see was a colourful recreation of Tellytubbyland.

That flippant remark might diminish the splendour of Mike Britton's stage design a little, but there's no escaping the fact it is highly reminiscent of the children's retreat, complete with rolling green grass, half-trampled dandelions and a beautiful azure sky populated with fluffy clouds. It makes you feel you're sitting outside when you're inside, the essence of the magic of theatre.

Aristocrats tells the rambling story of an Irish Catholic family who meet up at the ancestral Ballybeg Hall with the news their father is approaching his final end. Very little is seen of Father, but his presence is felt strongly throughout the play purely by the impact his overbearing personality has had on those closest to him.

Father may be decrepit and suffering from chronic dementia, but he was once a powerful, strong-willed and highly opinionated lord of the manor who told people exactly what he thought.

Father's opinions have altered the lives of his children irreversibly: fey Casimir is an optimistic fantasist who immerses himself in make-believe in order to escape his dad's insistence he will never come to anything; Alice has turned to alcohol to deaden the cut of the real world; Judith has given up her political activities to dedicate her life to caring for her dying father; while young Claire's confidence in her impressive piano-playing talent has been crushed by her parent's insistence she is merely "good" at it, certainly no better than that. A fourth child has even flown the nest to Africa to escape her haughty father.

The pedestrian pace of the play's first act (approximately 90 minutes) is tempered by the much shorter second act when truths are told and new leaves turned over following a landmark event in the family.

I felt more involved with the second half when the characters started to gel more and I could glimpse the family bonds beneath the isolation and separation of the first act. The family might be physically together, but somehow they are far apart emotionally and spiritually.

The cast are all excellent, whether it be Brendan Charleson's laid-back, bravely underplayed American Tom or Simon Holland Roberts's domineering drunk Eamon (and it is ginger-bearded Simon who masters the Irish lilt best of all).

The spotlight performance is undoubtedly Christian Patterson as Casimir, swinging from endearing joie de vivre to paternal terror with ease. Casimir is by far the most complex character in the play and Patterson makes sure he remains loveable and not grating.

Aristocrats is a character piece. Not an awful lot happens, but there is an awful lot said (and much more than is said aloud). See this if you enjoy plays about people and situations, rather than incident and consequence, but be forewarned – if you're no fan of Chopin, you'll go crazy in Tellytubbyland!

The stats

Writer: Brian Friel

Director: Kate Wasserberg

Cast: Brendan Charleson (Tom Hoffnung); Kai Owen (Willie Diver); Stephen Marzella (Uncle George); Christian Patterson (Casimir); Catrin Aaron (Alice); Simon Holland Roberts (Eamon); Lisa Diveney (Claire); Victoria John (Judith); Hugh Thomas (Father); Majella Hurley (Anna's voice)

Performed at Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, September 19 to October 12, 2013. Performance reviewed: September 24, 2013.

Links:

Aristocrats on Clwyd Theatr Cymru website (retrieved Jan 12, 2015)

Brian Friel on Wikipedia (retrieved Jan 12, 2015)