Arts:Blog

Theatre Review: Get Carter **

Michael Cox reviews 'a missed opportunity'.

The direction is sharp. The design is impressive. The score catches the period perfectly. The ensemble is solid, led by a spirited lead performer.

So why does Get Carter feel like a mediocre production at best?

Perhaps it’s down to Torben Betts’ adaptation. There is nothing particularly wrong with the script. The complicated plot, centred on a hard man coming home to bury his brother and to suss out whether he was murdered or not, unspools at a slow but steady pace, and the dialogue is believably colourful. And yet, every scene feels needlessly overlong and repetitive.

And perhaps it’s also down to director Lorne Campbell, who has taken the ‘style over substance’ approach. Make no mistake: the production looks great. A huge rubble of bricks gets crawled over, a large wall has shadows projected off of it and dead brother Frank remains onstage, serving as a silent Greek chorus who underscores the action with drums. Sadly, not one moment strikes much of an emotional chord.

It seems harsh to blame the cast, who handle Campbell’s staging rather well. Kevin Wathen has the difficult job of playing Jack, whose search for truth and justice drives that action. Wathen is hardly offstage and not only has to monologue and react against every other cast member but has the unenviable (and perhaps unfortunate) job of playing a role made iconic by Michael Caine. Wathen is good—sometimes very good—but he doesn’t quite have the charm of Caine, making it hard to empathise with his plight. The rest of the cast play their characters well, with Michael Hodgson being particularly good in the dual roles of Kinnear and Con.

Comparing this production to the classic film (the less said about the Sylvester Stallone remake, the better) is unfair, but anyone who has seen it can’t be helped to be reminded of the leaner, more engrossing cinematic experience; those who have only this play to go on might wonder why Get Carter is viewed as fondly. It’s a gritty experience, which is welcomed, but it’s barely engrossing, making it at best a missed opportunity.

Get Carter tours the UK until April 30.