2 STARS, Feb 15 – March 10. Derek Jarman’s iconic punk film Jubilee (1978), adapted for stage by Chris Goode on the 40th Anniversary of its release, stampedes its way into the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
©Tristram Kenton
This provocative and theatrical show reinvents Jarman’s Jubilee for the present day, whilst clearly still clinging onto the punk subculture it was based on. Characterised by anti-establishment views and general anarchy, it is every bit as loud and aggressive as you would expect.
The play opens in the same manner as the film with Queen Elizabeth I, starring original cast member Toyah Willcox, time travelling forward into a bleak and destitute contemporary Britain.
We find ourselves in a grotty graffiti covered London squat, where a family of youth on the fringes of society make both love and war. The audience become part of the “gang” slouching back in sofas on the stage and frequently being brought in on the action. (Tip to white middle-class men: don't wear chinos).
The leader of the group aptly named Amyl Nitrate, performed by Travis Alabanza, warns of what is to come: “An iconic film most of you have never heard of, adapted by an Oxbridge twat for a dying medium, spoiled by millennials, ruined by diversity, and constantly threatening to go interactive.” And it doesn't fail to deliver on this front.
From the offset the cast creates havoc, there is sex, nudity, gleeful girl-gang killings and even the Spice Girls make an appearance.
Two naked young men, Angel and Sphinx, frolic naked on a mattress, whilst a brash young woman blasts the audience with machine gun fire. Others tear around in bondage gear whilst lead Amyl struts around to Rule, Britannia! simulating masturbation with a Union Jack Flag. It is perhaps as uncomfortable as it should be, but I can’t help feeling there are too many stereotypes at play.
©Tristram Kenton
As expected current affairs come under fire, with commentary on Trump, Brexit, David Cameron and Ant and Dec; (although for some reason Beyonce is acceptable) with impassioned speeches about gender, race and the wealth gap.
The most convincing performance goes to Lucy Ellinson as Ariel, there is something about her character which has more depth. She doubles as a performance artist, the archetypal figure of the show: she does not make anything; she just is.
An important aspect of punk was creating explicitly outward identities of sexuality. Everything that was normally supposed to be hidden was brought to the front. This is certainly true of Jubilee, nothing is hidden and it is certainly explicit but this also serves to make the play very one dimensional. Don't expect nuance from this play, it doesn't pretend to be anything other than in your face. The film was Jarman’s first notable sensation as a commentator on social and sexual identity, however with a better understanding of gender identity in the UK than ever before that the play is somewhat outdated and gives a skewed representation of social identity. It is a bleak story – there is no joy in the celebration of the diverse, on the contrary this is Endgame stuff.
The cast stoically battle on from start to finish, with energy, particularly in the choreography but the point is unclear- and perhaps it is not their fault rather the source material, which is crass, overblown, rambling and often self-indulgent.
Having said all of this, the Lyric theatre should be commended for supporting avant-garde theatre; it is certainly an interesting night out and ultimately this play encourages discussion and that's surely what theatre should do before, as Goode predicts, it becomes extinct.
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