Rain Man Review

King’s Theatre Edinburgh – until 6th October

Reviewed by James Knight

3***

There’s always a danger when adapting something from one medium to another – scenes that are possible in big-budget films cannot be reproduced on stage; an insightful inner monologue in a novel must be translated to a subtle glance onscreen; favourite moments may be dispensed with entirely. With remakes and adaptations all the rage in Hollywood, there should be a purpose to these, to find something new or different to say about the themes, otherwise, what’s the point?

I have not seen the original ‘Rain Man’, the film that won Dustin Hoffman an Oscar, so I was at least able to view the inaugural production of Bill Kenwright’s Classic Screen to Stage Theatre Company without having to compare the two. Despite this, however, I do feel that the production was trying to simply reproduce the 1988 film rather than expand or re-examine key points of it.

Ed Speleers (Downton Abbey, Outlander) plays the entitled Charlie Babbitt, who, while trying to make good on his expensive car imports to rich dealers, discovers that his estranged father has died and left him a classic Buick Roadmaster and some rose bushes, while the rest of his $3 million fortune goes to his savant brother, Raymond (Mathew Horne – Gavin & Stacey, The Pride), a brother that Charlie was unaware even existed. And so, Charlie comes up with a plan to retrieve his share – ‘liberate’ Raymond from the psychiatric institution where he has spent most of his life and force his trustee, Dr. Bruner (Neil Roberts – Emmerdale, Charmed), to hand over the cash.

The best moments in the play arrive when both brothers are allowed to connect with each other, overcoming their inherent difficulties. Charlie, bereft of a proper family for most of his life, does not fully understand Raymond’s various rituals or the reasons for them. Raymond is frightened of physical contact, recites entire TV schedules from memory and is confused why his new underwear (briefs, not boxer shorts) do not have his name in them (instead they ‘belong’ to some guy named Calvin Klein). In these moments of bonding, Speleers moves between frustration and bemusement as he gets to know his estranged brother, and he takes great care to bring the audience along on Charlie’s journey from self-absorbed yuppie to caring brother. My personal highlight was the dance lesson – Charlie teaching Raymond how to dance, a huge step forward in their relationship, followed by Raymond showing off his skills to Susan (Elizabeth Carter – Between Us, Dreamboats and Petticoats), Charlie’s long-suffering girlfriend.

The performances of the cast were, I feel, hampered by the unimaginativeness of the rest of the production. As with any play depicting a road-trip, it’s usually best to keep things sparse, but with scene changes denoted by dimming the lights and playing some 80s music, I felt more could have been done to show the brothers on their journey to LA. At other points, the stage felt too large for the intimacy of the scenes portrayed, and we arrived in Vegas with some flashing lights, music, and two casino waitresses swapping exits while the audience waited for a costume change to happen. Add to this the fact we never actually saw Raymond counting cards in the casino, simply the two brothers appeared with their chips mounted up on platters. Because of this, their triumph at the tables felt a bit underwhelming.

Overall, Rain Man has strong performances in a production that could afford to take more risks to match the emotional content.