5 STARS for a brilliant play, expertly portrayed by a superb cast. Grab a ticket if you can, advises Jackie Bryans
Written to parallel Kennedy’s 1960 Democratic Convention, Gore Vidal’s play highlights how ruthless ambition can quash integrity and honour when it comes to electing the Best Man for President, making it as relevant today as it was over 50 years ago.
Set in a Philadelphia hotel, the suite which forms the basis of the staging cleverly interchanges between those of the two leading democratic candidates, providing a private sanctuary in which the audience bear witness to the relationships held between their respective spouses, aides and allies. Private corridors in the hotel enable the political elite to move unnoticed between rooms for clandestine meetings, whilst the press clamour outside awaiting the latest headline story.
To be clear, neither candidate is without blemish – William Russell, played by Martin Shaw is a seasoned politician with a reputation as a ladies’ man whose marriage, in consequence, has little more than mutual respect to sustain it. Nevertheless, it is clear that he is an intelligent individual and it is perhaps only his own self-doubt that is hindering him from becoming the front runner in the election campaign.
On the other hand, Joseph Cantwell (Jeff Fahey) and his ambitious wife, Mabel (Honeysuckle Weeks) will stop at nothing to reach the Whitehouse and are intent on smearing their main rival’s character to achieve this.
Both candidates have skeletons in their closets that they would prefer to remain buried and which have the potential to bring about a swift end to their political careers.
Joe Cantwell is poised to release his opponent’s past mental health history to the press at a critical time in the voting process. However, when the opportunity arises for William Russell to fight fire with fire, the audience gains an insight to the statesman’s true character as he is reticent to use underhand tactics to reduce his adversary.
However, his friend the Ex-President Hockstander – brilliantly played by Jack Shepherd – fears that such integrity might impede Russell from making a good President and he rather admires the ruthless Cantwell for his drive.
The play twists and turns keeping the audience gripped throughout, no mean feat when politics is the theme. Nevertheless, the eventual outcome was a surprise and far from inevitable.
I would recommend the play to anyone who was enthralled by last year’s US presidential election campaign, not least because in these uncertain times perhaps it is reassuring to know that in politics nothing is really new when it comes to jostling for power, but happily the world ambles along regardless.
In this first week of the production there were a few tiny glitches and on occasion the odd word was inaudible for those towards the back of the theatre, but clearly these will be quickly ironed out as the production goes on tour for the next six weeks before hopefully transferring to the West End. Tickets are in short supply in Windsor for this coming week and selling fast at the Richmond Theatre for the beginning of October.
Make sure to buy your ticket ASAP or risk missing out!
- Theatre Royal Windsor, September 12-23; theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk
- Richmond Theatre, October 2-7; atgtickets.com
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