★★★☆☆
Three Stars
Another Country is not a reflection of Oxford, but one might be forgiven for seeing in it the worst excesses of Oxford stereotypes: boarding school slang, crisp English accents and wood panelling abound.
Set in the 1930s, Another Country is overtly political. Systems of government, or systems of boarding school hierarchy, are discussed time and again, and the main character, Guy Bennett, is based on the spy Guy Burgess, one of the Cambridge Five. But don’t go along hoping to see anything about espionage; the action here stays firmly school-bound.
If, that is, “action” is the right word. “Spice and semi-colons” is how one of the characters relates a teacher’s advice on letter-writing. The phrase could describe the play. The audience succumb to frequent laughter, but the script tends to bumble back and forth between various amusing situations without ever going anywhere in particular. Little makes one want to see the next scene rather than just get to the next punch-line, and it does not help that scene changes are frequently lengthy. An overarching plot is decidedly lacking.
But despite flaws in the script, the company do their best to bring out its strengths. Joseph Allan as the communist Tommy Judd manages to create a character that is both irritating and loveable, while Tom Lambert’s performance as Wharton, a fag (in the 30s sense of the word), makes it hard to believe the man is a fresher, not a twelve year old.
The rest of the cast were strong, too, with the notable exception of James Methven, who played Vaughan Cunningham, an uncle of one of the boys who comes round for tea one afternoon. Methven flounces on, whirling around like a spinning top, and generally hamming up his role. The subtlety to the portrayal of homosexuality that is created by Peter Huhne (playing Guy Bennett) comes under significant stress. Methven’s has to be among the more cringe-worthy performances at a Playhouse show.
As surreal, though more intentionally, is the set. Most of it is very realistic, except for a gouge that rips through the wood-panelled room, and for the odd-coloured and rich lighting in the background. The effect is unsettling, and works well with the tone of the play.
Another Country is not an excellent play, nor is everything in this production excellent. But the final scenes are powerful, and one walks away moved, if unsure quite how the script manages to go so far towards redeeming itself at the very last moment.
