Decade

Synopsis

Writers come together to create a thrilling, unforgettable experience.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 9 September 2011

The sub-title of Rupert Goold’s 9/11 theatrical cocktail is simple enough: “Two towers, ten years, 20 plays.” And his three-hour production for Headlong, conceived and developed with Robert Icke, produced in association with Chichester Festival Theatre, brings that momentous day alive in a number of ways.

Although there are one or two structural devices to keep the show on the road - three widows meeting in a coffee shop on each anniversary; Pina Bausch-style processional and aggressive choreography (by Scott Ambler); an accumulation of dust on jackets and shoulders - the evening cannot claim the coherent narrative intensity of Enron.

The mood is more meditative and subdued. Partly this is down to the kaleidoscope of voices, and partly to the fact that the show is divided between recreating the shocking poetry of the event and the spin-off into some very good diversions: Beth Steel’s portrait of the American femal...

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Latest User Review

Jeremy - 7 December 2011:

I had high hopes for this production, and indeed the production values, and visuals, were effective. But for starters, making you walk DOWN into a Windows on the World recreation taxes your suspension of disbelief. Also, might I mention that it was in poor taste to 'become' a pretend restaurant patron who will, ahem, be dead in two hours. Instead of being dead, we are clapping and smiling in two hours. Tacky. The actors were all exceptional, given the very uneven material. But some of the American accents were very uneven. Decade hired an accent coach. Clearly it worked for Charlotte Randle (3 different Brooklyn accents), Jonathan Bonicci, among others .But it appeared that no one worked with Claire Prempeh on accents. Her waitress character's accent (really, several different accents, ranging from African American Southern older woman, to young white Valley Girl) was absolutely abysmal. Absolutely embarrassing. An otherwise touching monologue by playwright Harrison David Rivers, on having a 9/11 birthday, was ruined by her meandering accent! I also don't understand why Harrison Rivers made his character say the words "01" as "aught one." Very few Americans say it that way -- it sounded like Prempeh said it the British way ("naught one"). I believe some African Americans in the south may say the word "aught', but I don't believe his written character was specifically meant to be African American -- and that certainly was not made clear by Prempeh's young white Valley Girl accent that permeated much of that piece. Her character as waitress was meant to bookend The Sentinels (9/11 widows) piece sprinkled throughout the show, by announcing 9/11 dates in different years. So this very important bookend was ruined, in my humble opinion, by Claire Prempeh's lack of American accent skills. For a production in which many if not most of the playlets needed American accents, and given that this was about one of the most important tragedies in American modern history, it was a crying shame that Rupert Goold could not get it right and either hire actors with genuine North American accents, or make sure their accents were perfect. Shame on you, Decade....

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