Review – A Number
Date Reviewed: 27th April, 2009
Venue: Library Theatre
It’s great to see a new directorial voice – Sarah Punshon – at the Library Theatre, and a welcome return for Caryl Churchill, after this theatre’s staging of her groundbreaking Top Girls in 2004.
Surely this country’s greatest living playwright, Churchill is a fiercely intellectual force, restlessly exploring complex issues, always wrapped round a brilliant dramatic structure. This 2002 oddity, first seen at the Royal Court (and given its regional premiere here) is no exception.
A man, Bernard 1 (Daniel Casey) confronts his father, Salter (John Benfield) after learning that he was cloned as a child, and that there are several “others” roaming around the same city. Salter is also visited by another of his “sons,” Bernard 2 (Casey again,) angry and upset to learn that he too is not alone. The interrogation of Salter by his sons is a fast verbal battlefield, which explores the moral and ethical issues surrounding human cloning from contrasting viewpoints.
Churchill’s work is notoriously specific to the era of its creation. Whilst Top Girls offered an eerily prescient anticipation of Thatcher’s 1980s, equally, Serious Money skewered yuppie pretension and greed at precisely the time it was the cultural hot potato. A Number feels very much like a play from 2002, and whilst full of the author’s trademark verbal dexterity, it hasn’t travelled nearly as well. This secure production serves to emphasise Churchill’s skill as a writer, but also offers an explanation as to why this play hasn’t been revived since its premiere. Truthfully, it feels a little like yeserday’s news.
Punshon’s direction is clear (if unremarkable) and allows the play room to breathe against a dark open space. Beautifully lit by Jason Taylor, Jeremy Daker’s set is a quirky door-panelled room which serves the multiple linguistic battles brilliantly. At only an hour long, Punshon has resisted fleshing out the production with any extraneous material, but it remains something of a curate’s egg.
Benfield and Casey both give good performances, but struggle in the early scenes to find the rhythm behind the dialogue to give it enough momentum. Benfield is pleasingly unreadable, and his motives and objectives remain nicely clouded. Casey is even more impressive, offering three very clear and distinct characterisations. As good as they both are, there are moments when you feel that a few days extra rehearsal would benefit the interplay between them.
At only an hour long, this is perfect pre-dinner theatre, with plenty to leave you debating afterwards. Punshion’s debut production at this venue (and hopefully not her last) is an assured think-piece that’s certain to give Manchester’s chattering classes something to chat about.
-Matthew Nichols