posted by admin in Uncategorized
Maxim Gorky’s masterpiece The Lower Depths is given a fresh and lively staging at the Baron’s Court Theatre by Cogs Theatre Company.
The Baron’s Court Theatre is a small and difficult space to negotiate, as there are two large columns which make sight lines notoriously difficult. Other productions in this quirky venue have suffered as a result so I was interested to see how it would be managed in this production. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to see that The Lower Depths was staged and directed in a highly imaginative way which made use of the space rather than working against it.
The play is set in the overcrowded basement of a boarding house; scaffolding was used to create raised sleeping areas for the characters, washing lines were strung across the back of the auditorium and the characters moved in to and out of the space at close proximity to the audience on the front row. The set lacked luxuries such as pine furniture, opting for harder, rougher props. In short the cramped environment was expertly conjured up both by the set design and the direction. In addition to this it was refreshing and powerful to see such a large cast on stage and especially a fringe stage at that.
With Arts cuts being what they are it is very rare to see more than five people on stage these days so to see a strong ensemble cast of fourteen was excellent. The performances were nearly all spot on and the actors worked incredibly well as an ensemble. Indeed it was these ensemble moments that served the play best and the naturalistic style of a rowdy group of people living on top of one another, overlapping their sentences, fighting, singing and laughing was skilfully brought to life.
There were several moments of poignancy amidst all the chaos and the characters were nearly always engrossing. In particular Phillipa Flynn played Nastya the young sentimental prostitute with a truthful lightness of touch, never once labouring the character and similarly Hannah-Jane Pawsey brought a great deal of straightforward sensitivity to Natasha who here was portrayed as gentle and troubled but never a victim.
Despite being written in 1901 this production and the play itself still felt fresh and of course the themes of poverty, addiction and desperation are as relevant today as they were then. This is a thoroughly engaging and thought provoking play, full of verve with a strong ensemble cast and excellent direction.
