SCARAMOUCHE JONES (Stream Theatre)**

 

By Cal 

Link: https://www.stream.theatre/season/54

Available until: Livestreams ay 7.30pm every night until Sunday 4^th April, with matinées at 2.30pm on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. From 5^th April-11^th April it is available on demand and can be watched at anytime.

Scaramouche Jones is nearly one hundred years old. He has just given his last performance and he knows that today will be his last. So, for his very last performance, he tells us the story of his colourful life and how he got to be where he is today.

Most people really seem to love this play and there are certainly some very admirable things in it. Justin Butcher’s language is poetic and evocative and it takes us through Scaramouche’s life, which certainly hasn’t been dull. Anyone who has studied history will recognise at least some of the events Scaramouche describes. He gives the impression of the sort of person who has been everywhere and seen everything – though you wouldn’t exactly say he was in the right place at the right time. Far from it.

Andrew Exeter’s set is a shiny dark red with balloons. Director Ian Talbot keeps things very simple and realistic. Scaramouche isn’t a young man and he has a story to tell and although he moves around the stage a lot, he doesn’t mess around with lots of props to illustrate what he’s saying. It’s the language and the stories that are important. There are also some startling and very effective lighting effects and I like the idea of the camcorder as Scaramouche’s last audience. I think a lot of actors would identify with that at the moment and it also makes me wonder how many actors did give their last performance in 2019 or early 2020 without realising it would be their last. It’s a sobering thought.

Shane Richie takes the role of Scaramouche and many things in his performance are deeply impressive. His characterisation is strong and very distinctive and there is no dip in vocal or physical energy. He also plays some of the people Scaramouche encounters throughout his life and they too are distinctively-characterised and there is a lot of humour in these interactions. I know a lot of people really loved the stories Scaramouche told and for that reason, I encourage you to listen to those reviewers and not to me, but I never really found myself getting invested in this play. He seems quite detached from what he’s saying (again, this is just my impression which most people disagree with); there’s no sense of emotion, excitement or sadness, even though, listening to the words, there’s plenty to get emotional, excited or sad about.

It’s also very difficult to believe that Scaramouche is an old man. There’s no reason why an old man shouldn’t have the energy of a man more than half his age. I’m sure there are old men who are in incredibly good physical shape and he’d hardly still be performing at his age if he weren’t physically and mentally capable of it. It would be wrong for him to be struggling round the stage with the aid of a Zimmer frame and clearly his mind is very sharp if he’s able to tell all these stories. But even taking that into consideration, it was difficult to believe he’s anything like a hundred. It’s actually rather surprising that Shane Richie is fifty-seven; my impression, which is entirely based on this performance, was that he was in his early forties at most. Maybe in another twenty years, he’ll be able to bring a bit more to this role; there is certainly no doubting his focus, dedication and ability to create a distinctive character. For now, he just seems too young.

An intriguing play which didn’t work for me, but it’s very obvious I’m in the minority so don’t listen to anything I say.