Clockwork Orange @ The Citz

Of all the dystopian novels of the 20th century A Clockwork Orange stands as not only the most frighteningly accurate but the most morally baffling. Readers are both attracted to and repelled by Alex, our articulate, clever and sociopathic protagonist. When he is finally made to pay for his past crimes his punishment seems both justified and horrendously cruel.

Such complexity is sadly missing from Jeremy Raison’s pantomimic production. Jay Taylor’s central performance suffers from an overuse of limb-flailing and dandy-posturing that fails to communicate Alex’s savagery. More worryingly, the victims of his crimes are portrayed as flat caricatures, the violence as stylish dance. This taming of the violence renders Alex’s rehabilitation as un-effecting and puts the entire production at risk. For a play with countless references to “Ultra-violence” attempts to stage, understand or discuss violence are completely lacking. When the production decides to reference Guantanamo Bay during the brain-washing sequence it looks like a desperate attempt at relevance.

Despite this there is lots to recommend here. Jason Southgate’s set is apocalypticly futuristic and the music, which happily shifts from bass-heavy dance to distorted Beethoven, is wonderful throughout and provides a welcome distraction from a production that is too cartoony to engage and too flat to entertain.