Decadence
A corrosive critique of two opposed social classes still very much alive in Great Britain today; the play is a kind of parable on the seven deadly sins: gluttony, sexual greed, public school debauchery, cruelty in the hunt, fashion slavery, drunkeness and snobbery.
The story tells of two couples who are cheating on each other. A working class woman who is very rich, hires a private detective to spy on her husband, an aristocrat who is having an affair with an upper class lady. Berkoff uses these finely drawn characters to criticise the British class system and all that it represents for him. As in all his plays, the style is of paramount importance: the polished, made-up faces, the rictus grins, the straight jacket dress suit and the grandiloquent gestures make this play one of the most provocative works of contemporary theatre. All the props from a glass of gin and tonic to a galloping horse are created with mime. With only two actors and a sofa, the social hierarchy of Great Britain is brought to life with brilliance and hilarity. Escapade's version was performed in the Grec Festival of Barcelona in 1998 and the Festival del Sur in the Canary Islands in 1999 and at the Nau Ivanow in November 2014 Written by Steven Berkoff Directed by Sue Flack With Caspar and Sue Flack Asst director Julie Nash Original music Julian Jahanpour/Nigel Haywood Lighting design Tony Murchland Set and costume Escapade Hair and Make Up Patricia Mullen Photos Westudio.cat Graphic design Derek Zinger |
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