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Synopsis 'See what happens now I'm in trouble. See the awesome power of trouble. Trouble rocks.' It's Friday at the Sheriff's office. Vernon sits in his underpants, staring at his Nikes. His best friend Jesus went and killed all their classmates, then himself. Normal times just ran howling from town. Main House
DBC Pierre’s Booker Prize-winning novel Vernon God Little struck the Young Vic stage this week (Tuesday 9 May 2007, previews from 30 April) to the delight of critics and fans of this darkly comic look at the "grotesquerie" of an America gone mad in the wake of a Columbine-style school shooting.
Critics were quick to note the play's "cruel but commercially valuable timing" in light of the recent Virginia Tech massacre. They went on to praise Tanya Ronder’s fast-paced adaptation of the 2003 novel matched by a flexible set designed by Ian MacNeil and vigorous direction from Rufus Norris, whose productions of Afore Night Come and Festen have earned him two Evening Standard Awards.
Vernon God Little had its first two previews cancelled after actress Sian Reeves injured herself on stage during a technical rehearsal (See News, 29 Apr 2007). The season runs until 9 June.
Malcolm Rock for Whatsonstage.com (two stars) – “If you like your theatre bawdy, loud and relentless, you would have been right at home amongst the whooping Vernon God Little first night crowd. Most of the evening’s vociferous approbation belonged to newcomer Colin Morgan whose stamina-demanding performance is comfortably inflated alongside those of his foul-mouthed co-stars who frame this cruelly black comic tale of gross exploitation, mass murder and media misrepresentation most brazen. Tanya Ronder’s stage adaptation of DBC Pierre’s award-winning novel provides plenty of opportunity for crude visual gags and technicolour song-and-dance routines but dashes any hope of emotional weight. Director Rufus Norris’ hard-working ensemble is perfectly balanced in its grotesque portrayal of America’s most farcical as viewed through the embellishing eyes of our unsurprisingly bewildered teenage protagonist.”
Michael Billington in the Guardian (three stars) – “Given recent events in Virginia, this may not seem the ideal time to be staging a show whose background is a high school massacre. But Ronder's faithful version makes clear that Pierre's target is the psychotic culture surrounding such tragedies. In turning a first-person narrative into drama, Ronder inevitably sacrifices some of the throwaway brilliance of Pierre's prose: no play can match such lines, saying of a bus-station oldster, ‘the skin of his face hangs down in pockets, like he has lead implants’. The clutch of voracious neighbours who batten on Vernon's hapless mother are also reduced in scale. But what comes across effectively is the grotesquerie of a community that contains paedophile psychiatrists, and which instantly produces T-shirts trading on mass murder.”
Nicholas de Jongh's in the Evening Standard (three stars) – “What cruel, but commercially valuable timing Tanya Ronder's adaptation of DBC Pierre's terrifying, black comedy novel enjoys! The award-winning Vernon God Little not only shows how Pierre's scape-goated, eponymous hero is driven to death row by gross miscarriages of justice, after his best friend, Jesus, has shot dead 16 of their teenage classmates in a Texas school. It also comes to the stage just weeks after the comparable, real life murders on a university campus in Virginia, where another youngster ran fatally amok. Pierre's fiction and Ronder's adaptation, as the remorseless hustle of Rufus Norris' powerful production kept on reminding me, proves even more shocking than Virginia's awful reality. I kept giving in to shudders of amusement and laughter at this gross but believable picture of the disunited states of America. It will touch important chords with the young.”
Paul Taylor in the Independent (four stars) - "Directed with a darkly larky flair by Rufus Norris and suffused with country-and-western songs, it makes for an evening that is (if you'll excuse my Texan) banjo-pluckin', lardbutt-fingerin' and paradigm-shiftin' good. With a cast that skilfully plays multiple roles, this theatrical version is able to heighten the sense of a crazy world that is in conspiracy against the protagonist."
Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph - “Pierre writes brilliantly, but like many brilliant writers, he doesn’t go in for pieties. There is little hand-wringing about the grief experienced by the bereaved families, little explicit condemnation of the absurdities of American gun law, or rather the lack of gun law. Instead Pierre treats us to a vivid first-person narrative from the most screwed up American teenager since Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, and a blackly comic feast of American gothic set in a ghastly little town in deepest Texas. Beyond its wild satire and frequent obscenity, there is compassion and a celebration of life lurking somewhere in Pierre’s dark and twisted narrative. I can’t think that anyone except prudes will think of walking out of Rufus Norris’ exuberant production of Tanya Ronder’s nifty adaptation.”
If you like your theatre bawdy, loud and relentless, you would have been right at home amongst the whooping Vernon God Little first night crowd at the Young Vic.
Most of the evening’s vociferous approbation belonged to newcomer Colin Morgan whose stamina-demanding performance (he appears in almost every scene, often in only a pair of hideously ill-fitting briefs) is comfortably inflated alongside those of his foul-mouthed co-stars who frame this cruelly black comic tale of gross exploitation, mass-murder and media misrepresentation most brazen.
When 15-year-old Vernon (Morgan) becomes an unwitting accessory to his friend’s slaughter of 16 classmates he finds himself on the run, first cerebrally through “impassive” observation of his bumbling accusers, nutty neighbours and tactless mother, then literally hot-footing it across the Texas/Mexico border where he allies himself with a pair of tequila-drenched locals and their hefty mistress.
Tanya Ronder’s stage adaptation of DBC Pierre’s award-winning novel provides plenty of opportunity for crude visual gags and technicolour song-and-dance routines but dashes any hope of emotional weight. While act one fails to find footing, act two goes some way toward establishing what the play (and presumably the novel) is attempting to be by providing its brassy characters fleeting moments to suspend disbelief.
Director Rufus Norris’ hard-working ensemble is perfectly balanced in its grotesque portrayal of America’s most farcical as viewed through the embellishing eyes of our unsurprisingly bewildered teenage protagonist. He lets his cast run riot with those who inflict themselves on Vernon’s cartoonish world: a sexually forward admirer, a lover of amputee porn, an Andy Warhol look-alike fond of fisting, and an incomprehensible foreign lawyer who provides easy fodder for broken language gags.
America’s propensity to brand outsiders guilty without trial and shoot-first-ask-questions-later is ominously present within Vernon God Little’s drollery, which will amuse some and be seen by others as no more than an overwrought circus of caricatures in bad wigs.
Wonderful, brilliant, inventive, in short, a great night out at the theatre. Well done to the Young Vic, and Tanya Ronder for a terrific adaptation. The audience last night were a little muted - very British - not quite sure when to laugh, or if they should -(Sometimes the cast must wonder if they haven't all died!)I'd love to see it done in NYC, they know how to enjoy themselves. The ensemble take to it with gusto, and it fair romps along. Huge credit to Colin Morgan who, unbelievably, is making his professional stage debut. This guy is one to watch. Mark Lockyer leads the rest of a great company. Rufus Norris also deserves great credit for pulling the whole thing together so well. This is how the NT's current flop, A Matter of Life and Death, ought to have been. If you haven't seen it yet, GO NOW!, you'll love it. - rds
15 Jun 07
Just what the Young Vic is for - a great piece of stroytelling, inventively staged with 9 actors playing over 50 parts with great verve, including an auspicious debut from Colin Morgan as Vernon. I haven't read the book, but on stage its a wonderful cocktail of satire, comedy and drama; my only niggle would be that it needs a judicious bit of editing. - Gareth James
31 May 07
Who are these so called, 'professional' critics, that actually recieve a cheque for telling us what they think? Of course I am far from original in saying this, but many have got it wrong about this cracker of a show, particularly your own 'professional' website snob. This is a return to form for Rufus Norris, arguably one of the best directors working in Britain today. The novel is a wonderful, complex and fast moving bundle of hysteria and Norris and his adaptor Tanya Ronder pull this off with extreme clarity and vision, they stay true to the characters and the atmosphere the novel evokes. Norris clearly had a budget and he pulls everything out of his theatrical ruck sack to compensate for this, furniture is ingeniously turned nto a variety of vehicles and the cast manage to pull off extreme character changes within seconds. The acting is superb and there isnt a weak link in the cast. The critics have been harsh on Norris and I think this is because he likes to have fun and God knows we need some of that! - Lord Byron
30 May 07
Apparently Vernon God Little is very high on the list of books that people fail to finish. If it's anything like this stage adaptation I'm not surprised because I have never come closer to walking out than I did today. Appallingly self-indulgent, this interminable production feels like a bad drama school end-of-term show and by the end I would have gladly traded places with Vernon as the prospect of death by lethal injection became preferable to enduring any more of this irritating mess. Admittedly the target audience appears to be students, but even though I am younger than Nick Hytner perhaps I am too much of a "dead white male" to appreciate the Young Vic's latest offering. - David Baxter
24 May 07
Absolutely wonderful. Tanya Ronder has kept DBC Pierre's distinctive voice for her deft stage version, and Rufus Norris' gorgeously vulgar, funny and ultimately poignant staging is a knockout. Colin Morgan makes a striking stage debut as VGL and he is ably supported by a fine cast who look as though they're having as much fun as we are. I've never seen the Young Vic's unique space used as breathtakingly as it is here. A thought-provoking, grotesque, fun-filled triumph. - ajh
17 May 07
Great fun and IMHO better than the book. I was continually surprised by the imaginative staging. So much invention and the pace meant you never got bored. - Oliver
17 May 07
I was swept away. Startling images that stay with you for days, and flawless performances under what is the simply staggering direction of Rufus Norris, who throws up surprise after blissfully theatrical surprise. Pure entertainment. - Kate
17 May 07
Excellent!. A passionate and ambitious production, this demanded a lot from the cast who delivered faultlessly . Surprising and inventively composed throughout, with great use of humour and of music.Perfectly balanced in mood and dynamics, this is hugely entertaining. - jude
17 May 07
A perfect example of how theatrics (and boy were there some theatrics) can bring to life a story that in paperback form I found tricky. Not to say the book isn't great but the production's screenplay and direction in this instance were superb. The most colourful cast of characters and a wonderful stage set ensured a fast and furious Southern fest. I loved it. The Young Vic excelled itself. Welcome back y'all! - Eunice
16 May 07
A perfect example of how theatrics (and boy were there some theatrics) can bring to life a story that in paperback form I found tricky. Not to say the book isn't great but the production's screenplay and direction in this instance were superb. The most colourful cast of characters and a wonderful stage set ensured a fast and furious Southern fest. I loved it. The Young Vic excelled itself. Welcome back y'all! - Eunice
[TMA] member. 2004 - to close for an estimated 18 to 24 months to undergo an essential overhaul costing £12.5 million. Re-opened Oct. 2006 with the new auditoria named in honour of two theatre women, designer Maria Bjornson and director Clare Venables who died in 2002 and 2003 respectively. The Maria seats 160 while the Clare seats 80.
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