Pitcairn (Out Of Joint- Plymouth Theatre Royal)
Double Evening Standard award-winner Richard Bean seizes a fascinating story with plenty of opportunity but perhaps tries to do too much.
© Robert Workman
Pitcairn is Bean’s take on what happened to Fletcher Christian and his fellow ‘gone native’ mutineers as they establish their Utopia on a tiny Polynesian island. Accompanied by a handful of kidnapped Tahitian men and women, Bean’s Christian sees the volcanic rock as a new Eden where classless democracy will prevail.
And there lies the vehicle for somewhat stilted treatises on equality of the sexes, races, religion, hierarchy and more with shades of Animal Farm as Christian’s insistence on share and share alike is quickly tainted and the new Eden becomes the old ‘Norwich’ with hedonism, violence and liquid viagra key.
On Tim Shortall‘s austere rocky set with lovely variations on the incessant sea as backdrop, Max Stafford-Clark directs as the action moves lurchingly from one ‘History Day’ to the next documenting the new society’s rise and fall. But there is no subtlety as the event is enacted and all leave stage left with props – only to reappear stage right for the next instalment.
With a pervading am dram pantomimic feel, moments of humour, two narrators, a rather obvious twist and rather contrived attempts at audience participation, Pitcairn just can’t quite work out what it is trying to be. Such a shame as there are some great lines, good ideas, dynamic dance and tremendous actors.
© Robert Workman
New Bristol Old Vic graduate Eben Figueiredo is beguiling as narrator Hiti, Cassie Layton sweetly instructive as Mata, Naveed Khan plays laid back hatchet man Menalee and Lois Chimimba is dynamic as Arioi Te Lahu.
Ash Hunter is a convincing Ned Young ever-mindful of his duty to educate the heathens while new LAMDA graduate Tom Morley makes a good fist of a difficult part of Christian whose reasons for mutiny are never apparent and whose noble intent gives way to much hand-wringing and – surprisingly – conniving.
But it is Samuel Edward-Cook who steals the show with his nasty Quintal (reminiscent of Eddie Izzard’s Long John Silver) compelling and on point. throughout.
Pitcairn plays at Plymouth Theatre Royal until the 18th October and then continues to tour until the 22nd November.
