Roberto Zucco By Bernard-Marie Koltés · Translated by Martin Crimp

Review by Tony Venn

Roberto Zucco         The dress rehearsal        Tuesday 28th March 2023

This is not an adjudication or a judgment, but rather an appreciation of your hard work.

I read the play having little foreknowledge of the author and of the play.  I saw there were

twenty-one characters as well as other parts, something which would render the play ‘difficult to cast’ by many companies and it would remain on the shelf.  So this choice should be viewed as bold and brave and it was.  However, the strength of the company and the confidence of the actors was clear throughout the evening and I found myself absorbed by the action. 

I noted that the play is presented in fifteen chapters, something of a biblical echo perhaps and I wondered what the running time might be.  I knew the playwright was homosexual at a time when it was particularly difficult.  How this might have affected his thinking and the creation of the characters is unknown but it would not be surprising to find some mistrust of society therein.

The play begins at night and the studio was lit perfectly for complete darkness.  The use of torches located the guards and added to their purpose.  The escapee (Roberto) was high on the rooftop with the guards below him.   Not an unfamiliar experience to those of who are regular tv viewers and in the intimate performing space of the Ice House it was convincing.  

 The first scenes of any play prime the expectations of an audience and set the pace of of the performance that is to follow and this was successfully done.  It is more important in this production as it is a play that will not be ignored but rather one that reaches out and grabs the audience.  The play is made up scene by scene of perplexing action. The brother apparently distraught at his failure to keep his sister ‘pure’ and later selling her to a pimp, people who say aloud what they are thinking and not bound by conventions that restrain us and Roberto himself who kills people apparently without reason and without remorse.  Are these actions acceptable within the play?

 Incidental music was in the form of background tracks and were unobtrusive and appropriate.  There was minimal movement of properties and of stage furniture all of which contributed to the smooth running of the play.  The performance area was warm and the seating remained comfortable throughout the evening and there was a bar.

Purpose-built theatres are situated where the population throngs.  One would rarely find an Amdram company so grandly installed.  The Ice House in Teignmouth is not easy to find, one might say that it is hidden, it is certainly tucked away.  It is not a timid organisation or it would not be taking on this play.  It is a company worth finding and supporting.

Tony Venn