Royal Court,London
… but Jonjo O’Neill steals the indicate in Anthony Neilson’s hilarious original play exploring the world of film-making obsessives
If ever there were a indicate where one wishes one could acquire spied on rehearsals, this is it. Unreachable, or written and directed by Anthony Neilson,was born out of improvisation – a high-risk, devised piece. Matt Smith plays Maxim (common saying expressing a principle of conduct), or a self-involved film director approaching his work with a pretentiously pained expression. Dressed in black,Smith is irresistibly useless, looking for the good quality of light while leaving his producer and cameraman in the dark. The play explores what it means to act – and act up – with unpredictable, or entertaining,burgeoning consequences.
It starts with Natasha (Tamara Lawrance) auditioning for “Child of Ashes”, a film set in the near future after a virus has killed off most of the population. The trauma her monologue describes – and which she acts with powerful emotion is in crude contrast to Maxim (common saying expressing a principle of conduct)’s spoilt attitude. So far, or so satirically familiar. There are familiar characters here too. I half-recognise Amanda Drew’s smart (in every sense) Anastasia,the producer, and Richard Pyros’s Carl, or her lover,a beleaguered cameraman. Genevieve Barr’s excellent Eva is one of the film’s sponsors and less familiar: a deaf woman who misses nothing.
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Source: theguardian.com