NT LIve Man and Superman

NT LIVE MAN AND SUPERMAN ( GEORGE BERNARD SHAW ) The latest in the terrific NT Live series of screenings , this is a long , rather unwieldy and verbose musing and analysis by Shaw on morals, marriage,money , class structure and the position of women in society with an extraordinary dominating ,dazzling bravura performance by Ralph Fiennes as John Tanner .It was first produced in 1905 at the Court Theatre in Sloane Square and was a huge success . Under the seamless assured direction of Goodwin this play is magnificently performed and given a scintilating energetic presentation by its large cast . There is tremendous ensemble performance and great work by all the many leads. It has in places been updated to now ( note the use of mobile phones for example) .Christopher Dram’s designs are splendid – wonderful clean clear window lined offices , a glorious hanging garden , rocky cliffs etc and the massive revolve is sometimes featured.Mozart is used to great effect in the scene changes . Costumes are roughly very tres chic 1950’s ( or retro) but eighteenth century for the lengthy ‘ Don Juan in Hell ‘ scene ( which is often excised ) . The entire cast is splendid but it is Ralph Fiennes as John Tanner’s play .Tanner , a rich dashing radical bachleor playboy, is devastatingly critical of himself and society . Driven to distraction by his friends obsession with marriage and having to flee from the attentions of heiress Ann Whitefield,now his ward, Tanner arrives in Spain and is captured by bandits.. In Tanners dream , he morphs into Don Juan and Anne becomes Donna Anna (from Mozart's Don Giovanni) and there is a a lengthy philosophical conversation in Hell. ( Which is delineated by clean , clear cold lines of the sparse set and a lift) . They encounter the Devil himself and Anna's father the Commendatore, as in the opera killed by Don Juan . Fiennes , bearded with a moustache, is a whirlwind dynamo from his first breathless entrance . Charismatic and determined he apears to have sloping shoulders and a strange ,springy walk. Fiennes gives a dazzling, hypnotic performance and handles the long monologues superbly. His chaffeur , Henry Straker, is delightfully portrayed by Elliot Barnes- Worrell .And I love the white Jaguare convertible! Our leading ingenue ( ‘heroine’? ) , Anne Whitefield , dark with huge eyes, is tremendously played by Indira Varma in a luminous performance.Anne is shown as fiesty , determined and questioning . learning to think for herself – or is she ? Her mother Mrs Whitefield is given a very stylish performance by tall ,blonde, elegant Christine Kavanagh. As lovelorn bandit leader Mendozza and the slinky Devil Tim McMullan , darkly swarthily good looking ,has a glorious time and plays both parts with enormous relish. As the Devil he has a spectacular entrance with red lighting for emphasis and especially as the Devil has a pantherine grace . Violet ( Faye Castelow ) is pert and pretty with short curly hair . Castelow gives a radiant performance and her role is used by Shaw to examine the position of women’s unsettled reputation in society , with her ‘secret’ husband ... Nic holas Prevost has much fun as distinguished elegant lawyer Roebuck Ramsden and the Commander ( in white with wings ) in the Don Juan scene . Young , handsome Frederick Kingsley shines as poor lovesick Octavius Robinson desperately in love with Anne Whitefield .Corey Johnson huffs, blusters and bluffs as grumpy very class conscious American Hector Malone , while his son , secretly married to Violet , is terrifically played by Nick Hendrix in a tense standoff , Shaw creating another fiery class and society strata discussion – but eventually , we gather , all will somehow end rather well for them . It all ends gaily , with more rants from Tanner and red herrings uncovered - except for Robinson and in fact Tanner who ruefully accepts that he has been caught by Anne . A terrific performance of this Shaw play. Running time – 3 hours 50 mins (approx) including one interval and feature interview during that interval with director Simon Goodwin NT LIve has encore screenings at the moment at selected cinemas http://www.sharmillfilms.com.au/?p=4275