Modern day Hamlet
Lynn Freeman10/02/2010 10:15:00 a.m.
Vernon God Little, directed by Willem Wassenaar and Sophie Roberts, Downstage Theatre, reviewed by Lynn Freeman
TANYA Ronder has done a miraculous job of adapting DBC Pierre’s novel for the stage in a way that makes it unforgettable.
You can’t help but wonder when you watch this story of mixed up teenager Vernon Little, if the late J.D. Salinger might have created him instead of Holden Caulfield had he been writing now. Not that 15 year old Vernon is rebellious; at least not until his mother, a psychopath, his best friend, the media and his entire community force him to be by utterly ruining his life.
Things are bad enough for Vernon at the start of the play, when he survives a massacre at this school carried out by his best friend and is treated as an accessary to murder. Through the manipulation and stupidity of others, he is soon on the run wrongly accused of being a serial killer. He finds some kindnesses and companionship along the way,
Willem Wassenaar and Sophie Roberts have pulled off a blinder with this production, especially given they’ve created it in just four weeks at a summer school for young actors.
Vernon is a modern day Hamlet in some ways and that’s true also of the role on stage, so congratulations to Anthony Young for a remarkable achievement. He gives us vulnerability, confusion and clarity in equal measure.
Anna Harcourt is assured as Vernon’s self-obsessed mother, Vanessa Cullen plays the wildly ambitious and beautiful Taylor with gusto, and Richard Osborne is loathsome, as he should be, as Vernon’s nemesis, Lally.
Felix Borthwick’s cameo as the imprisoned “pastor” is one of the highlights of the show. The cast of 20, whether in big roles or small, is splendid and this is as good an example of true ensemble acting as you will see.
This kind of high octane production would test the skills and energy of seasoned performers. The production looks and sounds fantastic too thanks to Andrew Foster’s set, Glenn Ashworth’s lighting and Thomas Press’ sound.
Long Cloud Youth Theatre continues to produce some of the most thrilling work in the capital.
TANYA Ronder has done a miraculous job of adapting DBC Pierre’s novel for the stage in a way that makes it unforgettable.
You can’t help but wonder when you watch this story of mixed up teenager Vernon Little, if the late J.D. Salinger might have created him instead of Holden Caulfield had he been writing now. Not that 15 year old Vernon is rebellious; at least not until his mother, a psychopath, his best friend, the media and his entire community force him to be by utterly ruining his life.
Things are bad enough for Vernon at the start of the play, when he survives a massacre at this school carried out by his best friend and is treated as an accessary to murder. Through the manipulation and stupidity of others, he is soon on the run wrongly accused of being a serial killer. He finds some kindnesses and companionship along the way,
Willem Wassenaar and Sophie Roberts have pulled off a blinder with this production, especially given they’ve created it in just four weeks at a summer school for young actors.
Vernon is a modern day Hamlet in some ways and that’s true also of the role on stage, so congratulations to Anthony Young for a remarkable achievement. He gives us vulnerability, confusion and clarity in equal measure.
Anna Harcourt is assured as Vernon’s self-obsessed mother, Vanessa Cullen plays the wildly ambitious and beautiful Taylor with gusto, and Richard Osborne is loathsome, as he should be, as Vernon’s nemesis, Lally.
Felix Borthwick’s cameo as the imprisoned “pastor” is one of the highlights of the show. The cast of 20, whether in big roles or small, is splendid and this is as good an example of true ensemble acting as you will see.
This kind of high octane production would test the skills and energy of seasoned performers. The production looks and sounds fantastic too thanks to Andrew Foster’s set, Glenn Ashworth’s lighting and Thomas Press’ sound.
Long Cloud Youth Theatre continues to produce some of the most thrilling work in the capital.
