This is a very uncomfortable play and even with it’s many flaws Fear, playing at the Bush Theatre, is still and interesting story. The play chronicles disadvantaged youths, Kieran and his lackey Jason. We first meet Kieran as a meek boy around his nagging and distant mother who his believes never really loved him. Then we see a different side to him as he sizes up wealthy business men – he gets a thrill out of making them afraid and taking everything on them.
We then meet a wealthy investment banker and his wife, Gerald and Amanda, who are expecting their first child. He’s distant and constantly on his Blackberry, and gets a thrill from chasing money.
Let’s start with the good. Aymen Hamdouchi who plays Kieran is a rare talent. He portrays the complexities of the young boy who wants his mother’s love and the violent blood hungry animal with ease. I felt both disgust and empathy for him.
Rupert Evans as Gerald also shines. Gerald’s ambition is evident as soon as he enters the stage. With is well-tailored suit and the way he sleeks about, it’s clear the money is his life.
Both men pursue money above all else. Is it just me or does there seem to be a plethora of characterizations of those who pursue money above all else as not being able to treat people properly? (eg How Gerald treats his wife, or how Kieran treats, well, everyone.)
Now on to the problems. To begin, Dominic Savage’s script is deeply flawed. Characters aren’t fully drawn out. The mother is the most poorly written of them all and has zero depth (unfortunately the actor added nothing to it). Amanda, although slightly better, doesn’t have too much going for her either.
There are a lot of direct addresses to the audience, mainly by Kieran – some work brilliantly, while others go too far. When he talks about making people fell fear it’s directly at us. He addresses the audience as the “privileged them”. Making your audience feel uncomfortable is fine as long as there’s balance. It’s a useful way of making the audience think critically about the topic at hand, in this case the class divide. However, at times, I felt offended as if I was being affronted.
The largest flaw in the text is when the ghost of Gerald confronts Kieran. It began as an eerily lovely scene where Gerald comes in and looks over Kieran’s shoulder who’s looking at the picture of the sonogram he stole from him. Kieran then get’s a shiver and shouts, “who’s there?” This is then ruined completely by Gerald speaking. He then goes off about wanting his life back, and saying the two of them are no different, they just want money. He angelically spouts out that Kieran is a human being. It’s idealistic and reductive. Yes, if you’ve ever been attacked, then you know what it’s like to have that imaginary conversation in your head with your attacker. But you know it will never sound as good said aloud. That, is this moment. The confrontation has no impact whatsoever. The scence could have just had Gerald silently following Kieran around. I could have watched Hamdouchi for 10 minutes just responding to the ghostly presence and muttering to himself. Posing the question, is the ghost real? Is Kieran going mad? Or is this a representation of Kieran’s conscience?
Having not read anything about the production beforehand, it doesn’t surprise me that the writer Savage is also the director. Although there were some lovely direction and staging, he only emphasized the flaws in the text (eg, the direct addresses, pushing the at times cliched dialogue, and not fleshing out underdeveloped characters.
Although this is a deeply flawed text, there’s a lot of potential there. And it’s definitely a thought provoking piece. As this is Savage’s first foray in theatre (he’s done films), I hope he takes all the criticisms of the play out there and uses them to develop further.
And Dominic Savage, if you’re reading this, please work with an objective director, or at least a dramaturg, who will challenge you – and please, no more idealistic ghosts.
by 