One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Synopsis

Chief Bromden, half American-Indian, whom the authorities believe is deaf and dumb, tells the story of a mental institution ruled by Big Nurse on behalf of the all-powerful Combine. Into the terrifying grey world comes McMurphy, a brawling gambling man, who wages total war on behalf of his cowed fellow inmates. What follows is at once hilarious and heroic, tragic and ultimately liberating. Ken Kesey's first novel was published in 1962 and was adapted for the state in 1963 by Dale Wasserman. It was produced successfully on Broadway starring Kirk Douglas and subsequently became an Oscar winning film directed by Milos Forman, starring Jack Nicholson.

Our Review:

Paul Couch - 12 April 2013

The shoes of arch-lunatic Jack Nicholson are challenging enough for any actor to fill, let alone a young one but, in the New Wolsey Young Company’s magnificent staging of Dale Wasserman's One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Steve Withers takes Nicholson’s cinematic role of Randal P. McMurphy, deconstructs it, rebuilds it from the ground up and makes it his own. It’s remarkable to have watched Withers evolve over the years from a baby-faced and wide-eyed child actor to an adult who can command the stage with a powerful and moving representation of a man caught up in the sometimes barbaric and dysfunctional mental health system of 1950s America.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is a complex piece with a multi-layered dynamic among its characters, but the 16-strong cast create a believable immersive world where their audience become willing voyeurs to this attempted annihilation of the status quo.

McMurphy isn’t crazy, he’s a rebel wi...

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