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Michael Cox reviews a production with a long running time but ends up being 'wonderfully rewarding'.
There are many words one can use to describe the production of Lanark, but perhaps the single most honest one would be ‘ambitious’. A Citizens Theatre production that was part of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, here is an adaptation of a modern classic that looks like it's had a lot of money thrown at it; and with a running time of nearly four hours, ‘adequate’ would not be good enough.
So it's a pleasure to report that there isn't one ‘adequate’ thing about this: Lanark is a rip-roaring bonanza of theatricality that frequently surprises and is, thankfully, never dull.
What is it about? That's actually a rather tricky question. Are we in some form of purgatory or watching a group of characters imprisoned in the creative mind of writer Alasdair Gray, who wrote the novel this is based on? It's all ambiguous enough to allow for multiple interpretations, but within the political satire, science fiction and social commentary lies a basic identity crisis: we might not be any closer in knowing who protagonist Lanark is at the end of the production, but the audience takes a hell of a journey to reach his final ‘goodbye’ that movingly ends the play.
And actor Sandy Grierson is tremendous as Lanark. The production asks much of Grierson, who has to run the full gauntlet of emotion throughout and plays numerous roles, including hero, mad genius, philosopher and enigma. No matter what, Grierson is consistently phenomenal and manages to play a character who is always compelling. He is assisted by a terrific ensemble of players, each of whom have at least one stand-out role, but the play always comes back to Grierson’s superb turn.
The production is a marvel to behold. Director Graham Eatough has created a near impossible feat: a spectacle that mostly feels intimate. Sets glide past, music highlights ambiance, lights and projections open up the world and dragons come alive: everything is impressively brought to theatrical life with a quick pace. And with David Greig’s beautifully written script, everything is wonderfully brought together.
But with all the pizzazz and impressive work from everyone involved, it all comes back to Gray’s fascinating world and Grierson’s excellent performance, and though it all clocks in at just under four hours, the audience are asked to leave a world that would be easy to spend another four hours in. Ambitious indeed, but also wonderfully rewarding.
Lanark’s run has completed.
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