By Cal
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TsWYuikhwE
Available until: Unknown.
Until today, the only thing I knew about Ernest Hemingway
was that he’d written The Old Man and the Sea, a novella I’d really
struggled to make any sense of. I approached the play with some trepidation and
quickly discovered that I was ignorant to the extent that it was affecting my
understanding of the play. Hemingway was very vividly played by Edmund Dehn,
the sole performer, but the text lurched from one subject to another. The first
problem with this was that it left me feeling rather disorientated. The second
problem was that the one impression which I did get from Dehn’s performance was
that Hemingway was extremely confused and it was impossible for me to form any
idea of how much of his ramblings was real and how much came from his paranoia.
If I’d been in the auditorium, I wouldn’t have had any choice but to flounder through the play, but one big advantage about online plays is that you can pause the play and do a bit of research. I read up on Hemingway’s very colourful life and his most famous works and then went back to the play.
This made an incredible amount of difference. Although
Hemingway did lurch from one subject to another, it no longer seemed entirely
random. Writer Rolf Hochhuth has filled the play with references to Hemingway’s
life and work. The names which had meant nothing to me were now recognisable.
The events Hemingway (the character) referred to were clearly part of his life
and although my impression of Hemingway’s weakened mental state was correct,
most of what Hemingway talks about turns out to have at least some truth in it.
There was also one moment that reminded me of something that happened in The
Old Man and the Sea and there might have been references to his other works
too.
It was a compelling performance from Edmund Dehn, who
managed to convey both the strength that had seen Hemingway through a number of
experiences, and his weakness as he deteriorates physically and mentally,
struggling to breathe and no longer able to write. Director Anthony Shrubsall
gives him a lot to do, allowing him to move around the stage and use the props
and the furniture, but I was actually barely aware of it – everything Dehn did
seemed like a natural impulse originating from Hemingway’s mental state. It was
a great portrayal of mental illness, frightening to watch in some ways, but I
found it impossible not to sympathise with this man who has clearly suffered so
much in his life (though the horrific mental health treatment he received seems
to play on his mind far more than the many injuries he sustained during the
wars). Hemingway unravels in front of us and it’s harrowing.
The title refers to the fact Hemingway was a hunter and he
describes some of his experiences, but there’s a feeling Hemingway is not the
hunter but the hunted in this play, trapped on the tiny stage with only one
escape route.
I have just one reservation – and unfortunately, it’s quite
a big one. Researching the background of a play can always enhance
understanding and it’s never a bad thing to do, though it will always be a risk
as there is a chance of accidentally finding out the ending. But I do feel it
ought to be possible to enjoy and understand a play without doing any research
at all; that it should be possible to walk into the theatre on a whim (not that
you’d be likely to find a spare seat at the Finborough!), sit down and enjoy a
play without knowing anything about it.
It’s a very good play with a very impressive performance
from Edmund Dehn, but if we truly want to make theatre accessible to everyone,
plays which requite a certain amount of knowledge of the subject probably
aren’t helping the cause.
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