After The Applause

A delightful dark comedy about assassination, purpose and 3 lads who really want a sandwich!

I was very excited to see this play written by the fabulous Rajiv Joseph and directed by Lyndsey Turner (who directed Coriolanus and the Crucible at the National Theatre). It also helped that it was performed by an excellent cast consisting of award winning comedy actor Chris Walley (young offenders) and the ever-so talented Marc Wootton (Nativity!) as well as having a superbly gripping yet simplistic plot line.

This new work by Joseph is intricately written to combine comedy, drama and history all into one and the result is brilliant. Archduke follows three teenagers who were brought together by a Serbian captain to conspire to kill Franz Ferdinand in 1914, these 3 boys are all street urchins diagnosed with TB and therefore also diagnosed with an untimely death. Joseph’s writing allows us to be introduced to the complexities of these characters and despite them being from 1914 and from Serbia, even relate to their desperation for purpose in a world where they feel ignored as well as, of course, a desperation for food. For example Gavrillo, is introduced to us as a shy and nervous character, worried about how he’s going to make it in this confusing world, however, we watch his arc as he transforms into the man motivated to assassinate the archduke and set the century alight! The direction from Lyndsey Turner is slick, combining two genres into one, at times we question whether it is okay to laugh. I enjoy how the boys appear so innocent and young whereas the event we are talking about and leading into was so monumental to history, the stakes for the characters don’t feel as high as they are to us as audience members in the present.

My only complaint about the flow of this play is the need for an interval. Running at 2 hours including a 20 minute interval, I felt as though this show would have been best running through despite act 1 ending on a high with Gavrillo discovering his killer instinct. The show felt like an action film at times and I would have loved to keep on navigating through the story without a 20 minute break, however this may be an opinion only I hold!

Onto the other building blocks of this accomplished production…

The set was enormous, engulfing the whole Royal Court stage with a large train tunnel and large set pieces such as the lavish train carriage that the last scene took place in. Es Delvin’s train tunnel is huge and empty, perhaps representing the lives that Gavrillo, Trifko and Nedelko lead until their vocation to assassinate the arch duke came, represented by the large train carriage at the end of the play. I found this design clever and a brilliant use of the space that the beautiful Jerwood theatre downstairs provides. Additionally I want to provide a shout-out to the terrific fighting direction by Sam Lyon-Behan that manages to appear comic yet also realistic at the exact same time which I found impressive.

Now last but not least, the 5 strong cast who were all brilliant! Stanley Morgan stands out as Gavrillo as he grows from slight and anxious to bold and motivated as does Abraham Popoola as the loud, angry Trifko who too behind his threats and boasts of violence is just an urchin searching needlessly for a purpose. The comedy performance of the show goes to Chris Walley as Nedeljko who had me in utter hysterics from the moment he stepped on stage, his facial expressions and physical comedy were top quality and something I had seen being familiar with his performances in the award winning comedy Young Offenders.

Marc Wootton is fabulous as the evil manipulating captain “Apis” who persuades these 3 dying boys to do his bidding with the simple promise of lots and lots of food. I loved his mood swings from kind and caring to conniving and evil, done very naturally. I thought him and Janice Connolly provided a terrific double act as she played his frustrated cook Sladjana who desperately tries to warn the boys about the risk that what they are about to do carries.

This cast were terrific and all produced performances that felt true to the writing and larger than life to accompany the ginormous staging!

MY VERDICT:

This play was brilliantly written, directed and performed and carried a wonderful moral message that applies to modern life today. I left having really enjoyed what I had seen however just wished it had all gone through without the need of an interval!

I would certainly recommend this play however unfortunately I was lucky enough to view the final performance of it, hopefully a re-run comes at some point!!