After The Applause

An Oak Tree is a two hander experimental play crafted by the brilliant Tim Crouch in which he performs on stage with an actor who has no clue what they are going to say or do and is fed the script as the audience watch on eagerly. On it’s 20 year anniversary it gets a run at the young vic, and with actors such as Peter Dinklage, Patterson Joseph and Saskia Reeves already taken part it was no surprise to see a selection of stars be announced on this limited run!

The thing with An Oak Tree that makes it so unique is that every show is a different performance, as actors adapt and modify the basic script to make it their own and bring a different and unique layer to the words Crouch dictates them.

On Friday 23rd May, we are packed in a sold out, eagerly waiting theatre ready for the announcement of the guest star. When it is announced as Phoebe Waller Bridge I almost leap out of my seat with excitement (as do most of the audience, with a roar of riotous applause). However after the show had finished I was left bitterly disappointed by what I had just seen.

If you are a fan of Phoebe, don’t read on!

Let’s start with the two stars shall we! The play itself is weirdly crafted by Crouch, he knows every word and is there as a tour guide of the story as it weirdly navigates fourth wall breaks and random change of setting. The plot of the hypnotist and the father is weirdly mashed together with scripted conversations that are heaped with moments of humour and of deep emotion. Crouch is superb as he acts as a desperate wife trying to implore her husband to move on from their daughters death, what he didn’t have to act though was a desperate show runner trying to implore his guest to actually be bothered and give the audience what they came to see.

Phoebe simply reads the words, there seems to be no objective behind it. She rushes every line as though we are keeping her from getting the train back home, and she rarely adds any pauses (something even a novice actor knows how to do).

As an actor myself, it is a key skill to improvise and adapt with whatever material is given to you. Crouch’s script is meant to be said uniquely, with different pauses, thoughts and tones by each actor, it is something I would absolutely love to do! I was excited to see that funny humour from Phoebe shine through the script but she just did nothing, even in a humorous moment where Crouch makes her character think that she is naked she simply just stands there waiting for her next line.

Crouch’s desperation builds, you can tell he is frustrated as Waller-Bridge sprints through another monologue to end the play. The riotous roar has turned to muted applause, and the audience rush to leave.

I would have loved to have seen the earlier performances in the run with actually competent actors such as Meera Syal, David Tennant and Indra Varma who I am sure would have elevated the story and brought it to life in their own unique ways.

MY VERDICT:

Crouch’s play is lovely, however the way in which it is done is very stop and start. There are long moments of loud repetitive music and weird prolonged silences that don’t make it flow at all. He is a great actor (having seen him in I, Malvolio) and is so funny and clever, however he isn’t helped by his guest. She seriously lets herself down in this performance, it is as if they have grabbed an audience member who has never acted before and put them on stage (although I think that the audience member may have been better). I was such a fan of Phoebe Waller Bridge but it seems as though she wanted to race through the script and leave as quickly as possible, and just overall she didn’t look bothered whatsoever.

Nice play, bad guest. It really depends who you get, considering Tennant earnt a standing ovation for the same script Waller-Bridge butchered!