Reviews

Damned by Despair review - Jay Gohil

On 6th November 2012 we saw 'Damned by Dispair' at the National, Olivier theatre. The play is directed by Bijan Sheibani.
The play opened with a smokey stage, lights dim and the protagonist, Paolo, at centre stage giving his monologue. I believe that they chose to start the play like this in order to get across what is happening (To establish the main storyline of the play?/ To introduce one of the main characters?) Paolo's monologue consisted mainly of what had happened to him, so I believe this was background information to the audience. The atmosphere that was created was very spiritual and had biblical connotations. The mountain could represent the one climbed by Moses in order to receive the ten commandments. The play is no longer set during the 1700's and has been updated to a more recent time.Has it completely been updated? This, i think has been done so that the characters aren't so disconnected from the audience. This change in time has worked well because the language and the storyline remain largely unaffected. Both this and the original are set predominantly in Naples. We know that it set in Italy because of the 'Pizzaria', which is how it is said in Italy.

The setting consisted of three large screens, surrounded by a cartoonish backdrop of mountains. The setting was changed by rolling on flats.e.g Other scenes that required a change in setting were places like the home that Enrico visits his father in. For these scenes, a lampshade (or whatever prop, dependant on the scene) would be lowered from the heavens.(Gods) In my opinion, the use of the set want very effective. this is because of the impression it gave, being very plain and basic.How could it have been used more effectively? Paolo's monologue speaks of the beauty of God's creations and this was juxtaposed by having the cartoon mountains and a tree which was ironic. The mountain/Cliff face which was at centre stage was very good as it could be used at various levels to indicate various settings, however, I disliked that there were a few confusing moments caused by not having the cliff face at different levels which made the setting harder to differentiate. Also, the director hadn't made full use of the consistent switching of set. The National are a big theatre so getting funds or making better use of the stage (such as the revolving aspect) would have made the set far more appealing. A particular moment where i felt the set was used effectively was when Enrico was put in Jail. He is in chains and the flat became a concrete wall and the cell door. This scene was effective as it successfully created an eerie looking jail with a very suspenseful atmosphere.

The main characters, Paolo and Enrico, were dressed in completely opposite ways. Paolo wore a basic brown robe, which completely covered him whereas Enrico wore jeans and a t-shirt. This automatically gave us an impression of how different these characters are. Paolo has very few possessions and wants to get into heaven, which shows how religious he is, as he has given up everything, shown by his scruffy hermit look, compared to Enrico who is more vibrant and modernised Enrico, who lies, cheats and steals. It is also a show of the times as it starts off as if everything is set in the 1700's, but quickly changes to a more secular time period. Paolo changes his robes after discovering that he is bound for hell. this change from robes to combat clothing is a direct juxtaposition of peace and war. this is very effective as it shows us the extent of Paolo's transformation. We see how he goes from being a religious hermit, to being the leader of a gang. Other characters in the play who dress uniquely include the Devil. She dresses completely in black, implying that she is very plain and dark. She has one costume change, where she removes her top and puts it back on in a way that makes her seem like a creepy 'angel' to try and fool Paolo, who falls for her twisted tricks. Lastly, Celia, who is Enrico's girlfriend is dressed in a way which tells the audience that she is a gold-digger (He is taking her money?)  Give an examle of how costume gets acrosss her character)I thought costumes were used effectively as they said a lot about the characters wearing them.  Did the mix of time periods in the costumes help the message of the play?

The acting of the majority of the characters was overall fairly positive. I felt, however, that some actors were poor. The good actors which stood out for me were Enrico and the Devil. Enrico was very convincing. His tone of voice remained very menacing throughout (except when he was speaking to his father) which was very sentimentalHow did he show this change physically/vocally?. His body movements made him seem masculineHow?. This made his 'gang leader' character very believable. Also, his change towards the end could be empathised with because his naturalistic acting allowed us toGive an example. Another character who's acting I thought was very good was that of the Devil. She controlled her voice and body by putting on a croaky and angry tone. Her body was compact and her movement was slow and stiff. This gave the impression that she was not human. However, Paolo on the other hand, wasn't as good. He didn't have the correct tone (What do you mean here?) and due to his character seeming forced,Give a clear example of what Paolo did that was not convincingit became hard to empathise and therefore when he is cast into hell, the audience doesn't feel very bad for him. My favourite moment in the play was when Enrico was recounting his tales of thievery and murder. This scene was made very grim and suspenseful by Enrico because of his delivery of the lines. His tone was menacing and his anger was just right (not over the top). He made it look as if he enjoyed performing these vile and disgusting acts.

In my opinion, the play was good. It was not amazing but it was interesting. I think the play had a moral stating that if you ask God for forgiveness, despite living a bad life, you will get it, however if you have lived a good life and then do something bad, you will go to hell. This may not have been the intended message, but it is what I took from watching it. I think the play could be drastically improved by having a better set, the backdrop should be made to look better and they should make more use of the things that the National has to offer.(Too Vague)