Many talk of the elephant in the room; however, if I were you I would be more concerned with the ever increasing number of rhinoceroses just about everywhere. The premise of Ionesco’s 1959 play is delightfully simple: the inhabitants of a small, provincial French town all suddenly start metamorphosing into rhinoceroses. So, as more and more characters succumb to rhinoceritis, we are given a glimpse of a world gone topsy turvy in which people cannot help but join the herd, choosing to live lives free of the moral, social, and physical constraints that seem to govern our human existence.
Such an absurd work of art clearly demands a good sense of humour and here the cast were at their best. Humour was a key thread that endured throughout the production. Of particular merit were David Ralf’s portrayals of The Logician, a somewhat incomprehensible philosopher with a penchant for syllogisms, and Botard, a northern empiricist who simply would not believe the bizarre facts, until he too develops a thick hide and tusks. Arabella Lawson’s transformation from a snobbish scholar into a horned beast was also especially amusing. A clear awareness of physicality and movement added a level of almost surreal authenticity to her conversion.
Further credit must be given to the director (Lewis Godfrey) as well as the whole cast for ensuring that the wittiness and comic punch of the script was faithfully brought to life. There were the odd line slip or interruption which did detract from the fast paced nature of the humour, but more often than not these moments seemed to blur with the various occasions when the characters would be talking over one another. A moment of ironic self-reference was also well received but I felt at other times the breaking of the fourth wall was somewhat overdone, although it was quite funny having a rhinoceros bump into your legs.
One of signs of transformation was turning green so it was a clever directorial touch to have green lights bathe the audience towards the end suggesting that perhaps unknowingly we already have allowed ourselves to become one of the herd. For the protagonist, being individual meant being human but this proved surprisingly difficult for him as the temptation to give up a life of uncertainty and moral ambiguities and instead become an unthinking beast appeared somewhat persuasive. It is the classic paradox – would you rather be Socrates dissatisfied, or a happy fool – but in this case the choices were an unhappy human or a rhino. This production provides compelling arguments for both.
Four Stars
Rhinoceros is on at the Burton Taylor Studio 9.30pm, 2 – 6 February
