Catherine Bardrick is effortlessly transported back into the Golden Age of Hollywood by a drama depicting the life of cinematographer Jack Cardiff...
OUR VERDICT
Penned especially for star performer Robert Lindsay, the play “Prism” written and directed by Terry Johnson is currently delighting audiences at Richmond Theatre, with a standing ovation on opening night no less.
The play is a fictional portrayal of the life of a Hollywood legend whose career spanned the 20th century of cinema pioneering so many of the innovations in the development of cinematography over the years.
Jack Cardiff became a master of light himself, inspired by his early passion for the great painters of light from Vermeer and Rembrandt to Van Gogh and Renoir, working on some of the most memorable films of the Age such as Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, and The African Queen, and photographing some of the most striking starlets such as Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Sophia Loren.
The action begins in the garage of the Cardiff family home which has been transformed by his son Mason into a film set complete with cameras, lighting equipment, film stills, and a “casting couch” - all designed to provide an “aide memoire” for Jack to write his actual memoirs; a pathway back to the past. An ageing Jack, confused and increasingly disorientated by advancing Alzheimers, is already living mainly in the past, permanently on a film set it seems, mistaking his wife for Hollywood actress Katharine Hepburn and his carer for Marilyn Monroe.
The second act does indeed shift back into the past to life on the film set of “The African Queen” with some extremely light-hearted and humorous exchanges between Cardiff, Bogart, and Hepburn between takes. The production effectively balances the comedy of such moments with the poignancy of the more tragic impact of his Alzheimers both upon himself and his loved ones whom he often doesn’t recognise as the world of reality and film become more and more blurred in his mind.
The production is very well cast and characterised by four strong performances expertly directed by Terry Johnson into a cohesive ensemble on stage. The stand out performance is undoubtedly that of Robert Lindsay who strikes a fine balance between comedy and tragedy as the irascible Jack Cardiff imbuing the character with pathos as well as humour.
Credit also needs to be given to Tara Fitzgerald who evokes a lot of sympathy as Jack’s wife, but who also pulls off a great comic turn as Katharine Hepburn indignant to find out that it is the boat and not her who is “The African Queen”.
Not to be overlooked is the skill of Victoria Blunt who oscillates superbly between troubled yet endearing young carer Lucy and full-on sultry siren Marilyn Monroe in a very cleverly written and acted pair of scenes which echo and repeat each other. Perhaps Oliver Hembrough could have similarly made much more of the contrasts between his roles as Mason, Bogart and cameo Arthur Miller.
Full credit also needs to be given to the Design team – Tim Shortall, Ben Ormerod, Ian William Galloway, John Leonard, and Colin Towns as the effective staging and lighting/sound effects were undoubtedly a highlight of the show.
The use of video projections of the river and sunset used as a backdrop to the African Queen film set and the final scene both evoked and enhanced the atmosphere wonderfully, whereas the times when the film still posters came alive as actual moving image film clips were moments of pure on-stage magic. This is a production which will bring you the spellbinding magic of both stage and screen – highly recommended!
Dates: 14-19 October, 7.30 pm (click here for full information on the event)