Review: The Cut by Mark Ravenhill
I have to admit a possible bias. (In what will quite probably be) my only time as an “actor” on the London stage was in a reading of The Cut at the Young Vic, I played the (non-speaking) role of Gita. I had high hopes for the play and of course higher expectations more often lead to disappointments. Expectation were raised even higher as others mentioned they liked the play.
Incidentally, I believe one of the inspirations for the title is the street name “The Cut” which is the road that the Young Vic and Old Vic are on. The Paines Plough Wild Lunch of 2003 was inspired by “the brilliant variety of street names and places in Lambeth & Southwark”, a fun way to try and title and being a play.
It had
America Street by Ali Taylor
Waterloo Exit 2 by Helen Raynor
Jubilee Gardens by Dystin Johnson
Cold Harbour by Gary Owen
Orpheus Road by Ursula Rani Sarma
The Cut by Mark Ravenhill
Southwark Street by Kevin Sheedy
Brixton Water by Chloe Moss
There were three acts/scenes and the first act, which was probably my favourite, was pretty similar to the reading back in 2003.
The production and acting were superb but I was left feeling a little cold by the play overall because of the specificity of the theme or rather the lack of it.
Paul works for the government administering the cut – a nasty medical operation that eliminates desire and memory (I think) and looks like it could cause death. However, he feels extremely guilty about this especially the secrets he keeps from his family. The first scene, shows him reluctantly administering the cut only after some convincing from the (willing) patient/victim and after he has laid bare his guiltily conscience. The second scene shows the debilitating effects on his family life and the thirds scene shows him in jail as a new government has come to power and washed away the old order.
The play hints and resonates with oppressive political regimes. The historical cycles of overthrowing state authorities only to be replaced by equally oppressive but different regimes. It harks to the corrosive effect it has on people working for regimes. It also touches on the governmental faces of state cruelty and to the extent of the disappearance of memory, also the disappeared in Latin America.
However, therein lies the plays weakness to me. Others may like the vagueness of this world that Ravenhill conjures but unlike the surreal, brutal world of Sarah Kane’s Cleansed (which was also in many ways non specified) it seems to me that the Ravenhill’s world lacks detail. I don’t know anything about the regime, I’m not sure why I should care about the characters and I understand the arguments of freedom of the individual vs state and social conformity, I don’t really see them played out,
It feels too general, in a world where specifics matter. I don’t think the world had to draw on specifics in our world like the disappeared or ethnic cleansing but I’m not sure of the rules Ravenhill’s world was based on. So I left feeling a bit cold, a bit hollow and a bit disappointed but perhaps this my lack of cleverness and engagement.
PS The production was great. Mckellen acted superbly and Grandage brought together the lighting (Constable) and sound (Cork) extremely adeptly in a very well paced telling.
comments
One Response to “Review: The Cut by Mark Ravenhill”
-
About me
I'm a playwright and investment analyst. I have a broad range of interests: food, gardening, innovation & intellectual property, sustainability, architecture & design, writing and the arts. I sit on the board of Talawa Theatre Company and advise a CIS investment trust on socially responsible investments.
-
Recent Work
Recent plays include, for theatre: Nakamitsu, Yellow Gentlemen, Lost in Peru, Lemon Love. For radio: Places in Between (R4), Patent Breaking Life Saving (WS).
-
Nakamitsu
-
-
Yellow Gentlemen
-
hey, im currently reading The Cut by Mark Ravenhill for my GCSE performance….and i find it amazing. I love the fact that the vagueness of what The Cut entails. It left me wanting to know more about it, and unlike some plays i have read, made me think about themes and characters. I’m acting as the role of Susan, and would like tips and opinions on how you, as an actress would play Susan. At first glance, she seems to have mind problems…and some issues make me believe that she may be ”insane” ,as Paul in the first scene repeats. She also seems to be a character, almost scared and disturbed about passion between her marriage and jumps at any chance to change the topic when lovemaking is brought up.
If you did have any advice on playing Susan it would be much appreciated….thank you
Zoe x