I Am a Camera

Synopsis

It is 1930's Berlin; Chris and the infamous Sally Bowles struggle with poverty, drink, love and sex against a backdrop of the gathering clouds of Fascism. A touching and funny portrayal of friendship in a world splintered by hysteria and hatred. John Van Druten's I Am A Camera is the play that inspired the musical Cabaret. Cornelius Cooke Productions revive this forgotten work in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the death of Christopher Isherwood, whose classic novel The Berlin Stories formed the basis for Van Druten's play. Come and meet the original Sally Bowles.

Our Review:

7 September 2012

John van Druten’s 1951 play I Am a Camera is famous for two reasons: as a cue for Walter Kerr’s smarty-pants haiku review (“Me no Leica”) and, more significantly, as the gateway drama between Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin Stories and the 1966 musical Cabaret by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

So it’s a pleasant surprise to find a decently written memory play that brings 1930s Berlin to life and doesn’t leave you yearning – well, not too much – for the great songs or indeed the wonderful cut-and-thrust chemistry of Michael York and Liza Minelli in the musical movie.

At Southwark, Harry Melling, who played Dudley Dursley in five Harry Potter films, actually succeeds in making Isherwood an appealing character, no mean feat after claiming anonymity in his first line: “I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.” He’s jumpy, ...

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Latest User Review

Front Row Dress - 7 September 2012:

A prefectly marvellous and surprisingly relevant tale of the seedy underbelly of 1930's Berlin. More thoughts here http://www.frontrowdress.com/2012/09/i-am-camera-southwark-playhouse.html...

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