His Greatness

Synopsis

"Look at who you are man, that's your name on that book. All those people up there on that stage last night, that's you. That's magic. You do magic." Inspired by a ?potentially true story' during the declining days of Tennessee Williams, His Greatness is an intimate insight into the mind of a familiar public figure, grappling with the loss of former glory and desperate for a return to form and success. Three men; a great American playwright, his trusted and loyal assistant, and a young Canadian street hustler find themselves together for two days in a hotel room in Vancouver. The ensuing battle for power, love and loyalty is frequently funny, engagingly dark and ultimately moving. This is the story of living with greatness and the pain of its inexorable decline.

Our Review:

2 May 2012

Canadian writer and actor Daniel MacIvor's latest play is a taut, funny, irony-tinged drama inspired by the fate of the great gay playwright and poet Tennessee Williams who met the most prosaic of deaths choking on the cap of an eye-drops bottle in a hotel room at the age of 71.

The Playwright (played by Matthew Marsh) relies utterly upon his assistant (Russell Bentley) to function in everyday life. They spar, bargain and cheer each other up with the well-rehearsed patter of a married couple.

But the business nature of their relationship means the Playwright can also demand that his companion find him a young male escort (Toby Wharton) for the opening night of a new play and on this occasion it proves to be the catalyst for the lonely outcome we can all see coming.

Che Walker faultlessly directs power, tension and sexual attraction as they shift and flow around designer JeanMarc Puissant's too-familiar bland hotel room.

Impersonation or eve...

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