Marat/Sade

Despite my enthusiasm for both Theatre Workshop’s agenda for social justice and Weiss’ aggressive, political script, this Marat/Sade is a shambolic disappointment. A play so engaged, so angry and so nihilistic needs more than the strong central performance of Nabil Shaban and a dazzling set to deliver its full impact. Robert Rae’s direction is not taut enough, as cues are ponderous, the production over-ambitious and the songs feel under-rehearsed. There are moments of intensity – usually around Shaban’s de Sade and the self-conscious political debates. But the confusion and frustration created is not the vigorous response that this play demands.

There are many good ideas lurking in both the script and approach. The promenade set-up, the attacks on supposedly enlightened attitudes to mental illness and the use of performance as a forum for serious political debate. The conclusions that all revolutions are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the tyrannies that they defeat, and that civilisation is merely a weakening of human’s natural savagery ought to be bracing, and de Sade’s closing laughter ought to be menacing. Unfortunately, the musical atmosphere and mediocre performances kept the play too light-hearted.

It is good to see serious works revived like this: certainly, Marat/Sade is a brutal reminder of theatre’s depth. But on this occasion, Theatre Workshop could not rise to the material.