York Theatre Royal until Saturday 3rd March 2018. Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
3.5 ***
Pilot Theatre and York Theatre Royal presents to the stage Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of the 1938 novel by Graham Greene.
Pinkie (Jacob James Beswick) is a 17 year old up and coming gangster, who has just become the leader of a ruthless gang in Brighton, after his old boss is killed. After the revenge killing of Fred, he attempts to cover the gangs tracks but there is a witness, Rose (Sarah Middleton), a 16 year old waitress, and also a thorn in his side in the form of Ida (Gloria Ontiri), who is convinced that Fred’s death was no accident and will not rest until the truth comes out and justice is done, after all she knows right from wrong.
Pinkie comes to the conclusion that the only way to silence Rose is by marrying her, because as his wife anything she says would be inadmissible. He sets about convincing her to marry him, where in her own twisted and convoluted way she falls madly in love with him, as only a teenager can, and has her own secrets. The deeply disturbed Pinkie spirals out of control and we see his paranoia take effect, becoming more unstable and deadly. The only person who stands up to him in the quest for the truth as well as trying to protect Rose from his brutality, is Ida.
Beswick is a bit of a pocket rocket as Pinkie with his attitude and volatility. He shows him in all his bravado, slowly sinking into the depths of madness and we realise that he is just a little boy in the grown up world. Middleton as Rose plays her with a naivety but with also with a little something else, a bit of darkness, to it. Ontiri as Ida, gives a warm vocal performance, striking in her appearance and is a welcome relief after all the madness.
The stage design is quite ingenious, with the use of a movable ladder and lighting, adapting from rooms to Brighton Pier, utilising limited staging to great effect. I did find though that the stage was very dark, sometimes far too dark to really work out what was happening at times.
Composer and musical director Hannah Peel provides the score. She along with James Field, were in the background, playing on stage for the whole of the show. From the onset and with the murder of Fred, to Pinkies descent into madness, the music is a powerful tool and you could really feel the violence taking place before your eyes.
Touring until the end of May.