Erdman’s ‘The Suicide’

Press, 5 September 1983, Page 8

Erdman’s ‘The Suicide’

“The Suicide,” by Nikolai Erdman, directed by Paul Harrington for the Riccarton Players, at The Mill Theatre, Wise Street. September 3 to 17. Reviewed by Gerrit Bahlman.

An unemployed married Russian is driven to bitter measures to maintain his self-respect in the face of his unproductivity. He denies himself the extra portion of liverworst to underline the fact that he is not using the major part of his wife’s income. We meet this dispirited individual about three in the morning, hungry and prepared to inform his sleeping wife of the fact While not suicidal, his erratic, temperamental behaviour is misinterpreted. News of his intended "suicide” brings idealistic vultures from their caverns Our hero is besieged with reasons for his suicide, the note being the thing which can be used to subvert the paths of the State. “The Suicide” is well structured but requires a great deal of judicious pruning. It is recognisably Russian with its global concern about idealism versus people. The basis of its comedy is satirical criticism of the Soviet system

with its inter-related strains of personal fear and constraint.

While intended as a comedy, it is difficult to achieve and requires a level of experience which neither the cast nor the director managed. The only character who achieved true comic proportions was the deaf mute presented by Ivan Lomax. His intense terror and focus on a waving pistol and his inability to comprehend or communicate what he witnessed generated the only elements of genuine humour in a long evening. David Bridges as Aristarkh, the representative of the Russian intelligentsia, displayed his experience and with appropriate support would have been convincing. The key character in the production was that of Semyon, the unemployed focus of suicide aspirations. Richard Huber lacked the stage presence and vocal range to cope with this role which dominated the play. His delivery was monotonously lodged in a state of panic, even when uncalled for.

Some remarkably simple aspects of direction were missed. The evident panic

vocally, must be accompanied by equal physical activity. Body language must reflect what is being said, otherwise disbelief sets in. When a character is struck or falls to the floor a vocal exclamation ought to be present. These are simple points that destroyed the comedy of the situations. The sense of energy and pace was seriously lacking and undermined an interesting play. Semyon’s wife was played by Charlotte West, who managed a competent stage laugh. Her mother, Ursula Cheer, appeared too young. Accents ranged from French, Miriam O’Connor, New Zild, Richard Huber, to a most competent English provincial accent by Mathew Evans. Simon Hill, Shona MacKintosh, John O’Brien, Faith Oxenbridge, Julia Allen, and Paul Kearns completed the cast. It is hoped that the balance of realism and the ludicrous will gradually develop throughout the play’s season, as considerable effort has gone into production. The mammoth script was presented with hardly a fault and the use of balalaika music gave the beginning of each act a fine lift