For anyone who’s ever read some of Stephen Fry’s later works, you’ll know what to expect of Latin! or Tobacco and Boys. I can remember reading The Liar and Fry’s autobiography at the tender age of fourteen and being appropriately scandalised, perhaps even a little turned on. Indeed, if rent-boys, horse-shagging and the ill-conceived ‘limp biscuit’ game are the staples of Fry’s later literary diet, you can only imagine what his 22 year-old self will have concocted, and it’s our great pleasure to bring you Latin! at the BT in 2nd week.
Latin! has been challenging, no doubt about it – a script relying on two sole characters and a number of tricky monologues always will be. Fry presents us with Dominic Clarke, the disillusioned Latin teacher at Chartham Park Prep, plagued by memories of a miserable Cambridge career and ready to explore, shall we say, pastures new. Clarke is a ‘sensitive in a world of literary rugby players’, seeking release through Cartwright, the blonde, the beautiful, the apple of his eye. Yet there’s one problem with Clarke’s muse: Cartwright is thirteen. Thrown into this tempestuous mix we encounter Brookshaw, a jaded bachelor with an almost fanatical devotion to the school and an uncanny hatred for Dominic.
Auditions for the roles of the elder men were long and exhaustive: it was essential for so small a cast to ensure we Got It Right. Once we had, initial rehearsals inevitably focussed on building a rapport between the actors and helping each to understand the other’s character. What will strike anyone watching the play is the intensity of the script: fast-paced dialogues replete with puns-galore are set alongside more reflective, calmer scenes. Particularly for the younger Dominic, much of our rehearsal focussed on maintaining that slightly hysterical energy which abounds in so much of Fry’s work. Ultimately, the play questions the nature of love, and the nature of a true ‘education’, as well as humorously poking fun at the politics behind any staffroom door. Come to the BT in 2nd week for Chelsea-buns, peanut-butter smearings and, er, bicycle pumps for a lesson you won’t forget.
