Arcola Theatre – until 21 April 2018. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
3***
When artist Simon Dykes wakes up after a drug-fuelled night of partying, he is horrified to find that his girlfriend, and everyone else, have turned into chimpanzees. Under the care of alpha male psychiatrist Zach Busner, Simon is forced to face his chimpunity and rid himself of the delusion that he is human.
Will Self’s novel has been skilfully adapted for the stage by Patrick Marmion, with Self’s scathing satirical riff on social hierarchy and patriarchy providing plenty of laughs in Oscar Pearce’s production. The final scenes, where a Jane Goodall type chimp naturalist mourns the inevitable extinction of the human species as the chimps observe the humans in the wild provide a wistful, philosophical ending, but the play sometimes feels like a series of sketches lampooning easy targets such as the art world, NHS management and social snobbery. The obsequiousness and self-abasement of the males to their alpha never ceases to amuse, and the reimagining of London life for chimpanzees is sharp and clever.
The fine cast impress as chimps. There are no facial prosthetics – only brown harem pants, the odd use of mini crutches and the coaching skills of chimp expert Peter Elliott. The vocalisation and movement of the cast is utterly convincing, even the use of a frilly pink cushion to represent the females’ swollen oestrus becomes believable. Ruth Lass is outstanding as Dr Busner, full of alpha male posturing and arrogance, and Bryan Dick makes Simon ‘s plight sympathetic with his horrified reactions to chimp society. His transformation into a chimp is slickly subtle in Dick’s nuanced performance.
Great Apes is smart, twisted and thought-provoking fun – well worth a look.