My Brilliant Friend is
a play performed in two parts over five and a half hours, less two 20-minute
intermissions at the National Theatre in London It is based Elena Ferrante’s
four volumes of fiction collectively called her Neapolitan Novels adapted for
the stage by April De Angelis.
The play has some forty
characters with “other parts played by members of the company.” The company
consists of twenty-three actors and that gives you a hint of the scope of the
two parts of the play.
The play takes place in Naples
after World War II and it covers the period up to Silvio Berlusconi’s
presidency if not even later. That is a long time in the lives of a lot of
people but Ferrante spreads her story much more widely than just covering the
lives of a handful of main characters with the rest appearing in supporting
roles.
She wants to cover numerous
aspects of the history of Naples and indeed Italy during that time frame from
the personal lives and the relationships of some of the main characters, to
social changes, political upheavals, justice and, crucially, the position of
women. You can assume that their position was bad.
We are dealing with a poorer
neighbourhood of Naples and the following families are identified. The Greco
family is of prime importance because Elena (Niamh Cusack), the daughter of the
porter Vittorio (Martin Hyder) is one of the main characters in the play. She
has a mother, two younger brothers and a sister and they play variously
important roles in the action.
The Cerullo family is of equal
importance to the Grecos because Lila (Catherine McCormack), the daughter of
shoemaker Fernando (Martin Hyder), is the friend of Elena. The friendship
between the two women is the most important personal story of the play as it
goes through various permutations. Nunzia (Badria Timini) is Lila’s mother and
she has a brother Rino (David Judge) who plays an important part in the
numerous stories of the play.
The Carracci family occupies the
very important position as a representative of organized crime. The head of the
family Don Achille (Al Nedjari) disappears early but his sons Stefano (Jonah
Russell) and Alfonso (Colin Ryan) remain until the end of both parts of the
play. Stefano marries Lila and brutally rapes her on their wedding night.
The Cappuccio family is a working-class
trio with Melina (Amiera Darwish), a mentally deranged cleaner, her son Antonio
(Justin Avoth) the car mechanic with a romantic interest in Elena, and daughter
Ada (Lizabeth Mary Williams).
The Sarratore family consists of
Nino (Ben Turner), a school friend of Elena’s and Lila’s and his parents Donato
(Al Nedjari) and Lidia (Kazrena James). Nino falls in love with Lila after her
disastrous marriage to Stafano. Donato has sex with Elena.
The Solara family is another trio
of criminals consisting of the brutal Manuala (Emily Mytton) and her two sons
Marcello (Ira Mandela Siobhan) and Michele (Adam Burton).
Elena and Lila are attractive
women and they go through several partners and have a rocky relationship
between them. Elena becomes a successful novelist while Lila is not permitted
to pursue higher education and ends up working in a sausage factory. It is a
horrible job where she is sexually abused. The relationship of the two women is
the most important aspect of the play.
With organized crime present,
there are a few shootings. The politics of fascism and communism are present as
is the fight for workers’ rights, strikes, brutal treatment and general
injustice. Ferrante/De Angelis try to paint life in Italy on a huge canvas.
The play is organized around
short scenes broken by rear stage projections, moments of music or songs,
dancing, strobe lights and the like. Watching student or workers’ demonstrations,
work in a slaughterhouse and numerous other clips made no sense. There are too
many stories over a very lengthy time frame and it was not possible to keep
track of every plot strand or who is who and who did what to whom.
The set by Soutra Gilmour consisted
of several mobile ladders that were frequently repositioned on the stage. The
twenty or so actors were brought on stage frequently and the ladders provided a
place to run up on or around. After all, the play represents a part of a city
and not just a few individuals.
The production struck me as too
ambitious by a half. Bringing that many characters and that many stories even
within five hours is unwieldy and impossible to focus on.
I must add unstinting praise for
the acting especially of Cusack and McCormack. Cusack was on the stage almost
all the time and she had to go through numerous emotional ranges. McCormack did
superb work in a role that makes enormous demands.
Director Melly Still has a huge
job to do and significant credit is due to her for being able to keep the whole
thing moving.
__________
My Brilliant Friend, Parts 1 and 2 based on
Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels adapted by April De Angelis continues until
February 22, 2020 at the national Theatre, South Bank,
James Karas is the Senior Editor
- Culture of The Greek Press
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